TOKYO—Japan can now give defense equipment and technology to Vietnam under an agreement signed on Saturday, as the two sides step up their military cooperation amid worries about the Chinese communist regime’s growing military influence. Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the deal elevates their defense partnership “to a new level” and that Japan and Vietnam plan to deepen defense ties through multinational joint exercises and other means. Details about the transfer of specific equipment, including naval vessels, will be worked out in subsequent talks, the ministry said. Kishi’s meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Phan Van Giang, in Hanoi coincided with a two-day visit to the Vietnamese capital by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He wrapped up his visit by saying that the Chinese regime plans to donate 3 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine to Vietnam. The agreement comes two weeks after U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris travelled to …