ID :
25203
Sat, 10/18/2008 - 10:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/25203
The shortlink copeid
Aso supports studying proposal to send anti-piracy ships to Somalia
TOKYO, Oct. 18 Kyodo - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso expressed a positive view Friday on the possibility of sending Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to guard commercial freighters and other ships from possible attacks by pirates in waters off Somalia.
While Aso did not elaborate how such an operation would be implemented, his
position is likely to stir controversy over whether the MSDF could really
engage in anti-piracy missions outside Japan as the use of arms by the
Self-Defense Forces overseas is strictly limited under the war-renouncing
Constitution.
At a House of Representatives committee session, opposition lawmaker Akihisa
Nagashima invited Aso to comment on a proposal that the Japanese government
order the MSDF to escort ships in the region off northeastern Africa, where
many piracy attacks are known to have taken place.
Nagashima, of the Democratic Party of Japan, told the committee on the issues
of antiterrorism and reconstruction of Iraq, ''Escorts by SDF ships would be
very effective. The dispatch would not be for the purpose of the use of arms.''
The premier said, ''That kind of proposal is very good. Let us study it.''
According to government officials, the government may mobilize the MSDF to
protect Japan-related ships in the high seas from possible attacks by pirates
but a new law must be instituted if the MSDF were to protect foreign vessels.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, the top Japanese government spokesman,
told a press conference Friday, ''If we need a new law, we must consider it.''
But a senior official of the Defense Ministry suggested the idea does not
immediately sound realistic, given too many legal hurdles the government would
have to clear.
In the parliamentary session, DPJ member Keiichiro Asao urged the government to
create a new legal framework enabling the SDF to protect vessels including
foreign ships from piracy attacks.
''A crackdown on pirates would be more effective to promote Japan's
contribution to the international community than the refueling mission,'' Asao
said, referring to the mission the MSDF is currently involved with in the
Indian Ocean. The DPJ is opposed to the activity.
==Kyodo
While Aso did not elaborate how such an operation would be implemented, his
position is likely to stir controversy over whether the MSDF could really
engage in anti-piracy missions outside Japan as the use of arms by the
Self-Defense Forces overseas is strictly limited under the war-renouncing
Constitution.
At a House of Representatives committee session, opposition lawmaker Akihisa
Nagashima invited Aso to comment on a proposal that the Japanese government
order the MSDF to escort ships in the region off northeastern Africa, where
many piracy attacks are known to have taken place.
Nagashima, of the Democratic Party of Japan, told the committee on the issues
of antiterrorism and reconstruction of Iraq, ''Escorts by SDF ships would be
very effective. The dispatch would not be for the purpose of the use of arms.''
The premier said, ''That kind of proposal is very good. Let us study it.''
According to government officials, the government may mobilize the MSDF to
protect Japan-related ships in the high seas from possible attacks by pirates
but a new law must be instituted if the MSDF were to protect foreign vessels.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, the top Japanese government spokesman,
told a press conference Friday, ''If we need a new law, we must consider it.''
But a senior official of the Defense Ministry suggested the idea does not
immediately sound realistic, given too many legal hurdles the government would
have to clear.
In the parliamentary session, DPJ member Keiichiro Asao urged the government to
create a new legal framework enabling the SDF to protect vessels including
foreign ships from piracy attacks.
''A crackdown on pirates would be more effective to promote Japan's
contribution to the international community than the refueling mission,'' Asao
said, referring to the mission the MSDF is currently involved with in the
Indian Ocean. The DPJ is opposed to the activity.
==Kyodo
