VIETNAM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Liên Đoàn Thương Mại Và Công Nghiệp Việt Nam
Fri, Dec 13, 2019, 07:59:00
Japanese minesweepers JS Bungo and JS Takashima paid a friendly call on Vietnam’s central coastal city Da Nang Thursday morning.
Carrying 180 officers, the ships berthed at Tien Sa Port on a four-day visit.
The Japanese crew, led by navy captain Ikubo Seiji of Minesweeper Division III, is set to visit Da Nang’s Navy and Military High Command where officers of both countries will for the first time discuss and share minesweeping intel, Vietnam News Agency reported.
As part of Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy, the initiative aims to strengthen cooperation between its own and other navies across the Indian Ocean.
Da Nang is the crew's 7th destination since embarking for the Phillippines, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bahrain, India, and Malaysia.
JS Bungo is a large-sized, Uraga-class minesweeper, 141 meters long and 22 meters wide, with a 5,700-ton loading capacity. It is one of Japan's two largest mine countermeasure vessels.
JS Takashima is a small-sized, Hirashima-class minesweeper, 57 meters long and 9.8 meters wide, with a 570-ton loading capacity.
