According to Kyodo News on August 11, Japan and Vietnam signed a loan agreement worth 36.6 billion yen (US$345 million) to provide Vietnam with six patrol boats to enhance Vietnam’s maritime law enforcement capabilities. Japan actively intervenes in South China Sea affairs, declaring that China has “militarized the disputed area” and expanded its maritime and air activities in the South China Sea. Japan called this behavior a unilateral “attempt to change the status quo in the region.”

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed this agreement with the Vietnamese government in Hanoi on July 28. An official from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Japan had provided fishing boats to Vietnam, but this would be the first time that Japan provided patrol boats to Vietnam.