Japan, Vietnam express serious concern about South China Sea

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The leaders of Japan and Vietnam have expressed serious concern about any unilateral actions aimed at altering the status quo in the South China Sea, and agreed to work together to sustain free and open sea lanes as tensions escalate in the region amid China’s rise. Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is the first foreign leader to visit Japan for talks with new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who took office in October. Kishida told Chinh in his opening remarks that “Vietnam is an important partner who holds a key to achieving ‘a free and open Indo-Pacific,’” a vision aimed at countering China’s increasingly assertive territorial claims in the disputed region.