ID :
37580
Fri, 12/26/2008 - 22:20
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/37580
The shortlink copeid
Aso orders minister to consider defense force ship mission near Somalia
TOKYO, Dec. 26 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Friday to
consider sending Self-Defense Forces vessels on an antipiracy mission to waters
off Somalia, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said.
After building a consensus within the ruling coalition, the government may
issue an order for ''maritime policing activity'' in accordance with the
Self-Defense Forces Law as early as in January with a view to providing
protection against pirates for Japanese ships from sometime in February.
If realized, it would be the first dispatch overseas by Japan of a defense
force ship for policing activities at sea. But it remains unclear if the
Defense Ministry will warm to such a plan.
''I received an instruction from Prime Minister Aso that we accelerate the work
of consideration so that the SDF can swiftly deal with the piracy issue,''
Hamada told a news conference.
Hamada noted, however, that the prime minister did not specify in his
instructions what shape the dispatch should take or when it should be made.
''Although maritime policing activity has been given a focus since yesterday,
that is just one option we will be considering,'' he said, indicating his
reluctance to dispatch the SDF under the framework.
Hamada said a dispatch for maritime policing may not be suitable from the
viewpoint of international coordination because such an operation would be
restricted to safeguarding Japanese-registered ships or Japanese nationals
under threat.
The defense minister also pointed out the need to consider how the SDF can deal
with heavily armed pirates given the limits placed on the use of force during
maritime policing activities.
The government is expected to consider preparing legislation that would allow
SDF ships to act under circumstances in which a foreign ship comes under
attack.
But it is uncertain whether such legislation will proceed smoothly given the
political logjam resulting from opposition control of the House of Councillors.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura said the government has yet to decide on when
to send a fact-finding mission to the region, while Hamada dismissed the need
to send such a mission ''now.''
Regarding persistent doubts about an SDF dispatch overseas involving possible
use of force under Japan's war-renouncing Constitution, the government's top
spokesman also said a possible SDF mission abroad would not pose a
constitutional problem.
''We are dealing with pirates here. No constitutional issues should arise
because this is not at all about acting against a sovereign state or a party
similar to it,'' Kawamura said.
On Thursday, Aso said the government should consider the possibility of
amending the SDF law to enable SDF ships to protect foreign ships as part of
maritime policing activities.
He then floated the idea of issuing a maritime policing order as a stopgap
measure to allow the SDF to engage in such activities in waters off Somalia for
the time being because an amendment would take time.
Maritime policing missions are ordered by the defense minister with the
approval of the prime minister. Once an order is issued, SDF personnel can
conduct policing activities at sea in place of the Japan Coast Guard to protect
people's lives and property and to maintain order.
Maritime policing, however, has restrictions such as on the use of weapons.
Weapons may only be used for self-defense or in emergency evacuations.
An order for maritime policing 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, Maritime
Self-Defense Force destroyers fired warning shots but the boats fled.
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
dispatched navy ships to the waters on Friday.
Piracy incidents have increased substantially this year in the waters off
Somalia, reaching 101 as of Dec. 5, up from 44 last year, according to the
Foreign Ministry.
More than 60 percent of global piracy incidents this year occurred in waters
near Africa, especially off the coast of Somalia and in the nearby Gulf of
Aden, the ministry said.
==Kyodo
2008-12-26 23:25:57
Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Friday to
consider sending Self-Defense Forces vessels on an antipiracy mission to waters
off Somalia, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said.
After building a consensus within the ruling coalition, the government may
issue an order for ''maritime policing activity'' in accordance with the
Self-Defense Forces Law as early as in January with a view to providing
protection against pirates for Japanese ships from sometime in February.
If realized, it would be the first dispatch overseas by Japan of a defense
force ship for policing activities at sea. But it remains unclear if the
Defense Ministry will warm to such a plan.
''I received an instruction from Prime Minister Aso that we accelerate the work
of consideration so that the SDF can swiftly deal with the piracy issue,''
Hamada told a news conference.
Hamada noted, however, that the prime minister did not specify in his
instructions what shape the dispatch should take or when it should be made.
''Although maritime policing activity has been given a focus since yesterday,
that is just one option we will be considering,'' he said, indicating his
reluctance to dispatch the SDF under the framework.
Hamada said a dispatch for maritime policing may not be suitable from the
viewpoint of international coordination because such an operation would be
restricted to safeguarding Japanese-registered ships or Japanese nationals
under threat.
The defense minister also pointed out the need to consider how the SDF can deal
with heavily armed pirates given the limits placed on the use of force during
maritime policing activities.
The government is expected to consider preparing legislation that would allow
SDF ships to act under circumstances in which a foreign ship comes under
attack.
But it is uncertain whether such legislation will proceed smoothly given the
political logjam resulting from opposition control of the House of Councillors.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Kawamura said the government has yet to decide on when
to send a fact-finding mission to the region, while Hamada dismissed the need
to send such a mission ''now.''
Regarding persistent doubts about an SDF dispatch overseas involving possible
use of force under Japan's war-renouncing Constitution, the government's top
spokesman also said a possible SDF mission abroad would not pose a
constitutional problem.
''We are dealing with pirates here. No constitutional issues should arise
because this is not at all about acting against a sovereign state or a party
similar to it,'' Kawamura said.
On Thursday, Aso said the government should consider the possibility of
amending the SDF law to enable SDF ships to protect foreign ships as part of
maritime policing activities.
He then floated the idea of issuing a maritime policing order as a stopgap
measure to allow the SDF to engage in such activities in waters off Somalia for
the time being because an amendment would take time.
Maritime policing missions are ordered by the defense minister with the
approval of the prime minister. Once an order is issued, SDF personnel can
conduct policing activities at sea in place of the Japan Coast Guard to protect
people's lives and property and to maintain order.
Maritime policing, however, has restrictions such as on the use of weapons.
Weapons may only be used for self-defense or in emergency evacuations.
An order for maritime policing 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, Maritime
Self-Defense Force destroyers fired warning shots but the boats fled.
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
dispatched navy ships to the waters on Friday.
Piracy incidents have increased substantially this year in the waters off
Somalia, reaching 101 as of Dec. 5, up from 44 last year, according to the
Foreign Ministry.
More than 60 percent of global piracy incidents this year occurred in waters
near Africa, especially off the coast of Somalia and in the nearby Gulf of
Aden, the ministry said.
==Kyodo
2008-12-26 23:25:57
