Vietnam inks $348 Million agreement with Japan to build six patrol boats.

Vietnam on July 28 2020, signed an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to borrow 36.63 billion yen ($348.2 million) to build six patrol vessels, state media reported, amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.
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A vessel that Vietnam Coast Guard received from the U.S. Coast Guard in 2017. (Picture source: Vietnam Coast Guard)

Vietnam will borrow 36.6 billion yen ($348.66 million) from the Japan International Cooperation Agency to build six patrol boats.

The patrol boats, planned to be delivered to the Coast Guard by October 2025, will be designed to strengthen law enforcement and maritime rescue operations and ensure security, maritime safety and freedom of navigation in Vietnam, JICA said in a statement.

For the record, the United States announced last year, it would supply Vietnam Coast Guards another coast guard cutter for its growing fleet, in addition to at least 18 "Metal Shark" patrol boats it provided to Vietnam in the last three years.

A Metal Shark patrol boat delivered by the U.S. sails in the waters off Khanh Hoa Province in central Vietnam. (Picture source: U.S. Embassy in Hanoi)