Covid-19: Tokyo to send vaccine doses to Hanoi
1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca already sent to Taiwan. Covid-19 cases rising since April and only 1% of the Vietnamese population vaccinated. The cooperation between Japan and Vietnam also concerns the dispute with China over the islands in the South China Sea.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) - Japan will send vaccine doses to Vietnam to cope with the increase in Covid-19 cases in the country. The decision was announced by the Japanese authorities on Saturday 5 June, following a meeting between the Japanese ambassador Yamada Takio and the Vietnamese president Nguyễn Xuân Phúc.
On June 3 Takio and Nguyễn Xuân Phúc discussed relations between the two countries in the framework of the Extensive Strategic Partnership. The Japanese ambassador assured that Tokyo will also continue to promote cooperation for infrastructure development, digital transformation and environmental protection.
The main Hanoi newspaper wrote that the current policy of the Japanese government is to give importance to relations with Vietnam and that it will continue to actively support Vietnam to prevent and counter the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the same day, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) said that "Japan will be able to send vaccines to Vietnam as early as June 2021," but did not specify what kind of vaccine will be sent.
On June 4, Tokyo shipped 1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca to Taipei. According to a government source, Japan will consider sending additional doses to some developing Asian countries and Pacific islands.
Yesterday in Vietnam, 211 new coronavirus infections were recorded, bringing the total number of infected to 8,791. The country was considered among the most effective in containing the pandemic; however, since April it has seen cases rise again. Health authorities have identified a variant of the virus that combines characteristics of strains first detected in Britain and India. At the moment the vaccination rate is 1%.
"Vietnam is an important country for Japan, especially for the South China Sea issue," a foreign ministry official said, referring to Hanoi's dispute with Beijing over a group of islands in the region. Tension also remains high over the sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are under the control of Japan but claimed by China.
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12/02/2016 15:14
24/08/2016 09:42
