Japan to send destroyer for antipiracy mission off Somalia in Feb.+

TOKYO, Dec. 25 Kyodo - Prime Minister Taro Aso indicated Thursday that Japan plans to dispatch a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer to waters off Somalia for sea patrol to protect Japanese ships from piracy activities.

Aso is expected to make a final decision on the matter in January after gaining
consent from his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner the
New Komeito party, and have the MSDF vessel begin patrol activities possibly in
February, government sources said.
If realized, it would be the first such dispatch overseas on policing
activities at sea under the Self-Defense Forces Law.
''Japan of course should also respond,'' Aso told reporters, suggesting the
need for Japan to act swiftly concurrently with other countries such as the
United States, China and European nations for patrolling waters off Somalia.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura, however, said issues remain to be
resolved over the mooted SDF dispatch, saying that under the current law, MSDF
destroyers can protect only Japanese-registered ships or other vessels related
to Japan.
MSDF personnel would be allowed to use weapons only in self-defense or during
an emergency evacuation, and destroyers' activities would be limited basically
to protecting Japan-registered ships or cases in which Japanese nationals are
attacked.
The MSDF vessels will not be able to take action in the event a foreign ship
that has no relation to Japanese lives or properties comes under attack by
pirates.
Given that strong reservations also remain among government officials,
including those in the Defense Ministry, the final say will be left up to Aso,
according to the government sources.
Aso said, ''I believe we need to consider the possibility of amending the (SDF)
law'' so that MSDF destroyers can protect foreign ships as well.
''I don't think it is acceptable that Japan not protect certain ships just
because they are foreign-registered ships,'' the prime minister said.
But he added that one option would be to issue an order to allow the MSDF to be
involved in sea patrol activities for the time being as an amendment would take
time.
Once the defense minister issues an order based on the SDF law with the prime
minister's approval, SDF personnel will be able to conduct policing activities
at sea in place of the Japan Coast Guard to protect people's lives and
properties and maintain order.
Such an order was first issued in 1999 when two North Korean spy boats
disguised as Japanese fishing boats entered Japanese territorial waters off
Ishikawa Prefecture in the Sea of Japan. At that time, an MSDF destroyer fired
warning shots at the vessels.
Kawamura, meanwhile, pointed out at a press conference that such activities are
in principle aimed at operations within Japanese territorial waters.
''It will be necessary to consider how to deal with this point and how we can
ensure it in a law. We are asking project teams in the ruling parties to
consider the issue,'' the top government spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said it is necessary to conduct a
probe in the region of dispatch first, adding that the Defense Ministry lacks
information on piracy operations in waters off Somalia.
The government has been considering the dispatch as part of its international
contributions partly due to concerns of the Foreign Ministry that other
countries that have sent their vessels to waters off Somalia may criticize
Japan for not taking action even though its ships are passing through the area,
the government sources said.
The worries apparently come against the backdrop of Japan's having forgone
dispatching SDF officers to Afghanistan and withdrawn its Ground Self-Defense
Force personnel from Iraq.
Aso said in August, when he was secretary general of the LDP, that the
government should consider using the MSDF to protect Japanese ships.
After becoming prime minister in September, he also expressed his intention to
make use of MSDF ships for such a mission at a meeting in October of the House
of Representatives committee on antiterrorism.
Government officials and lawmakers have been discussing the possible dispatch
of the SDF as other countries, including the United States and members of the
European Union, have sent naval ships to crack down on pirates. China said last
week that it is also sending a warship to the waters.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet Secretariat is also making preparations for a new bill
that would facilitate the dispatch overseas of Japan's destroyers with a view
to having the Diet approve it during its next regular session that begins in
January.