Japan to give ships, 100b yen infrastructure loans to Vietnam

Tokyo

JAPAN on Tuesday promised Vietnam ships to strengthen its forces in the South China Sea, with the two nations describing large-scale land reclamation there as a threat to peace - a veiled reference to China.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also pledged some 100 billion yen (S$1.17 billion) in infrastructure loans after holding talks with Nguyen Phu Trong, who is on his first visit to Japan as general secretary of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party.