The Vietnam - Japan relationship is neither normal nor purely strategic partnership. In other words, many diplomats call it “natural allies” as the affection between the two nations has been built from people’s relation.
So said Nghiem Vu Khai, former President of the Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association during an interview granted for a Vietnam Times’ reporter.
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Readers of an online newspaper donated money in support of Japanese victims of earthquake and tsunami in 2011. (Photo: dantri.com.vn) |
According to Mr. Khai, although the diplomatic relationship between the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and Japan was set up on September 21st, 1973, in fact, the people’s relationship between the two countries started over 4,000 years ago when Japanese merchant ships and traders usually anchored in Vietnam’s trading ports
He added that Vietnamese and Japanese people share a lot of natural similarities between culture, external relations policies and people’s diplomatic activities, and that the similarities are the foundation and a favourable condition for the two peoples and two nations to bring the strategic partnership to a new height.
“It can be said that the Vietnam - Japan comprehensive strategic partnership starts from the friendship among the people from both nations, the relations between humans through generations. Therefore, many scholars and social activists agree that the Vietnam - Japan relationship is a natural partnership creating natural allies. “Natural” here means seeking and getting close to each other not for economic interest, security or something else which can be measured. This is natural harmony which goes beyond a strategic partnership, with the people’s partnership being the foundation,” he said.
According to Mr. Khai, there were diverse milestones marking the development of the people’s relationship between the two countries. Earlier, during Vietnam’s period of struggle against American imperialist for national protection, there were strong campaigns to gather support for Vietnam in Japan. Japanese friends refused American war ships involved in the war into their ports for repair and the Japanese people also collected medicine, clothes and books for Vietnam at that time.
Meanwhile, regarding the earthquake and tsunami striking Japan in 2011, Mr. Khai noted that the natural disasters became a trial and a means of measurement of affection of the people’s friendship. The Vietnamese Prime Minister was one of the foreign high-ranking officials who visited Fukusima, the region most seriously stricken by the natural disasters.
Meanwhile, the sincere affection from the Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President and enterprises to normal people for Japanese people and nation was presented during the event. “There have been a wide range of campaigns in support for foreign friends in Vietnam; however, there has been no campaign carried out on such a large scale in moving affection as the campaign to collect things for Japanese victims of the earthquake and tsunami,” Mr. Khai went on to say./.