Japanese warship makes Vietnam's Cam Ranh port call

Destroyer Fuyuzuki of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force arrived in Vietnam's Cam Ranh port Tuesday, starting a friendship visit to the Southeast Asian nation, VietnamPlus reported.

During the five-day tour, the Japanese crewmembers are scheduled to meet leaders of the south central province of Khanh Hoa and senior Vietnamese military officers in the region, as well as visiting Vietnamese warships and joining volleyball matches with Vietnamese soldiers, the report said.

The destroyer's call at Cam Ranh International Port, a former U.S. base during the war, is aimed at bolstering ties between Vietnam and Japan, which formed a strategic partnership in 2015, in addition to being a vital part of the training course for the naval aviators on board. Japan is also Vietnam's top bilateral donor.

The visit takes place amid tensions in the South China Sea, or the East Sea as referred to in Vietnam, after Philippine defense and military officials said last week the country would upgrade existing facilities on its inhabited islands and reefs in the South China Sea, all or part of which are claimed by China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Vietnam.

Japan's multipurpose destroyer Fuyuzuki, commissioned on March 2014 as the fourth of the Akizuki class, has a displacement of 6,800 tons and measures 150 meters long with crew capacity of 200.

It is equipped with sophisticated weapons from torpedoes to jammer launchers, decoy launchers, canister launchers and helicopter launch pad.