HANOI: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in Hanoi on Monday that Japan would supply six new patrol boats to Vietnam, which is locked in a dispute with China over the South China Sea.
Abe's stop in Vietnam completes a tour through an arc of the region where Japan stakes a leadership claim in the face of China's growing dominance and uncertainty over what policy change Donald Trump will bring as U.S. president.
"We will strongly support Vietnam's enhancing its maritime law enforcement capability," Abe said.