ALONG THE ANGLOSPHERE:

Japan and Vietnam agreed to strengthen their extensive strategic partnership Tuesday during the Vietnamese Communist Party chief's first ever official visit to Tokyo.

Following a meeting with Nguyen Phu Trong, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Japanese premier Shinzo Abe pledged that his country would provide new vessels and loans to Vietnam in a boost to economic and security ties.

Vietnam and Japan already have a robust relationship, with the two countries upgrading their relationship from a strategic partnership in 2009 to an extensive strategic partnership in 2014 (See: "The Future of US-Japan-Vietnam Trilateral Cooperation"). But the visit, Nguyen said in an interview with Japanese media outlets before his four-day trip to Japan, was aimed at "bringing Vietnam-Japan relations to a higher level."

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