Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh, on Monday underscored the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation and the rule of law in the South China Sea, taking aim at China's militarization of outposts in disputed areas of the sea.

At a meeting in Hanoi, Motegi and Minh also agreed to coordinate Japan's push for a free and open Indo-Pacific with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' efforts to promote stable growth in the region, according to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.

Motegi stressed that Japan has continued to "firmly state its position" to China about the South China Sea, a position Minh, who doubles as deputy prime minister, expressed support for, the ministry said.