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Japan to Deploy Destroyer to Middle East
The rare overseas mission follows an attack on a Japanese oil tanker and increased American pressure to play a more active role in the region.
By Ben Dooley - Dec. 26, 2019 - ΝΥΤ
A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer during a joint exercise with the United States in the Pacific Ocean in March.Credit...Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
TOKYO — Japan will send defense forces early next year to patrol regional shipping lanes in the Middle East, from which it sources much of its crude oil, the government announced on Friday.
The rare overseas deployment, which will be limited to intelligence-gathering, is meant to ensure the “security” of Japanese merchant ships and help maintain “peace and stability” in the region, the cabinet office said in a statement. The decision follows a series of attacks on oil tankers in the region, one of which was Japanese-operated.
The deployment will include one destroyer, equipped with helicopters, and at least one of two P-3C patrol planes currently engaged in antipiracy operations near Somalia. It will be tasked with collecting information that “directly impacts the security of vessels navigating” the region, according to the cabinet office, which approved the plan on Friday. The mission has been authorized for one year and can be extended.
The announcement follows a meeting last week in Tokyo between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, whose country the United States has blamed for attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman in June. The United States has called for an international coalition to protect ships in the region, but only a few of its allies have joined that mission.
The Japanese mission will be independent of any other nation’s deployments in the area, the cabinet office said Friday. But Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, speaking at a regular press briefing, said intelligence-gathering operations could be conducted in “coordination with relevant countries.”
Japan imports about 90 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East, and “given the rising tensions, it is necessary to strengthen our information collection system for ensuring the safety of Japanese vessels,” Mr. Suga said.
Japan has come under pressure from President Trump to play a more active role in protecting its interests in the Middle East. Mr. Trump has complained that the country pays “zero compensation” for American patrols of shipping lanes in the region. He has also demanded that Tokyo cover more of the costs of stationing American troops in Japan.
Japan’s pacifist Constitution limits its ability to participate in international military coalitions. Mr. Abe has moved to change that, despite public opposition, by issuing a reinterpretation of the Constitution and campaigning to amend it.
The new deployment will be limited to the northern Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden, the cabinet office said. Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force operates a base in Djibouti, which was established in 2011 as a staging area for antipiracy operations.
Source :. https://archive.is/eM32M
The rare overseas mission follows an attack on a Japanese oil tanker and increased American pressure to play a more active role in the region.
By Ben Dooley - Dec. 26, 2019 - ΝΥΤ
A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer during a joint exercise with the United States in the Pacific Ocean in March.Credit...Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
TOKYO — Japan will send defense forces early next year to patrol regional shipping lanes in the Middle East, from which it sources much of its crude oil, the government announced on Friday.
The rare overseas deployment, which will be limited to intelligence-gathering, is meant to ensure the “security” of Japanese merchant ships and help maintain “peace and stability” in the region, the cabinet office said in a statement. The decision follows a series of attacks on oil tankers in the region, one of which was Japanese-operated.
The deployment will include one destroyer, equipped with helicopters, and at least one of two P-3C patrol planes currently engaged in antipiracy operations near Somalia. It will be tasked with collecting information that “directly impacts the security of vessels navigating” the region, according to the cabinet office, which approved the plan on Friday. The mission has been authorized for one year and can be extended.
The announcement follows a meeting last week in Tokyo between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, whose country the United States has blamed for attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman in June. The United States has called for an international coalition to protect ships in the region, but only a few of its allies have joined that mission.
The Japanese mission will be independent of any other nation’s deployments in the area, the cabinet office said Friday. But Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, speaking at a regular press briefing, said intelligence-gathering operations could be conducted in “coordination with relevant countries.”
Japan imports about 90 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East, and “given the rising tensions, it is necessary to strengthen our information collection system for ensuring the safety of Japanese vessels,” Mr. Suga said.
Japan has come under pressure from President Trump to play a more active role in protecting its interests in the Middle East. Mr. Trump has complained that the country pays “zero compensation” for American patrols of shipping lanes in the region. He has also demanded that Tokyo cover more of the costs of stationing American troops in Japan.
Japan’s pacifist Constitution limits its ability to participate in international military coalitions. Mr. Abe has moved to change that, despite public opposition, by issuing a reinterpretation of the Constitution and campaigning to amend it.
The new deployment will be limited to the northern Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman and the Gulf of Aden, the cabinet office said. Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force operates a base in Djibouti, which was established in 2011 as a staging area for antipiracy operations.
Source :. https://archive.is/eM32M
