Japan provides Vietnam with 6 vessels

HANOI, Vietnam - Japan will provide Vietnam with six vessels as part of a grant aid package that will boost Hanoi's maritime security patrol capacity.

The deal announced Friday for the six used vessels worth 500 million Yen ($5 million) was signed by Vietnam's Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who is on a two-day visit for a cooperation conference.

"We hope this will help strengthen the maritime law enforcement capability of Vietnam," Kishida told journalists at a news conference with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh.

The deal comes as Vietnam reacted violently since China's oil drilling platform HYSY981 operations started on May 2, heightening tension in the region, although it recognized China's sovereignty over the islands 40 years ago in official statements and even in textbooks for high school students.

Beijing has announced the successful conclusion of the oil rig's exploratory drilling in mid-July and more than 1,500 incidents of Vietnam sending ships to harass the drilling operations happened.