ID :
40521
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 10:50
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/40521
The shortlink copeid
MSDF can protect non-Japanese ships if loaded with Japanese cargo
TOKYO, Jan. 13 Kyodo -
Japanese-owned shipments can be grounds for Maritime Self-Defense Force
protection of non-Japanese ships if MSDF ships are deployed on an antipiracy
mission near Somalia under maritime policing rules, lawmakers of the ruling
coalition said Tuesday.
Such a legal interpretation could pave the way to expanding the target of MSDF
protection to many more non-Japanese ships navigating the pirate-infested
waters off the coast of Somalia.
The inability to protect non-Japanese ships from pirate threats under the
existing rules has been a sore point for the Japanese government as it
considers ways to contribute to international efforts to combat pirates in the
region.
The maritime policing provision in the Self-Defense Forces Law stipulates that
the SDF can be authorized to take necessary measures to protect lives and
assets at sea, which is generally taken to mean those of Japanese.
In line with this, the government has so far said the MSDF, when providing
maritime policing, can protect only Japanese-registered ships and others
operated by Japanese firms as well as ships with Japanese people aboard.
According to the lawmakers, who were briefed at a meeting of the ruling bloc's
antipiracy project team on Tuesday, government officials told them that it is
possible for the MSDF to provide protection to non-Japanese ships as long as
they are loaded with Japanese cargo because such cargo can be interpreted to be
Japanese assets.
The lawmakers say priority should still be given to Japanese-registered ships
and others operated by Japanese firms, partly because the number of MSDF ships
that can be deployed on such a mission will be limited anyway.
Meanwhile, Defense Ministry officials told team members that two shooting
incidents involving pirates in the Gulf of Aden can be taken as examples of
when use of arms could be justified as an act of self-defense or emergency
evacuation in maritime policing, the lawmakers said.
The cases concern a pirate boat captured by the British navy and a boat sunk by
the Indian navy, both last November. Both navies say they opened fire after
they were fired upon.
In the latter, the Indian navy claimed that its warship had sunk a pirate
''mother ship'' in self-defense, but a maritime watchdog later said the vessel
was actually a Thai fishing trawler seized by pirates. One crew member of the
boat died and 14 others went missing.
MSDF vessels providing maritime policing in Japanese territorial waters can
open fire on a fleeing ship to stop it, but they are unauthorized to use
weapons outside the waters, except in cases of self-defense or for emergency
evacuations.
The project team, set up by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior
partner, the New Komeito party, is considering drafting a bill specifically to
enable the dispatch of MSDF ships abroad on antipiracy missions.
The project team is expected to reach a conclusion by around mid-March so that
the government can submit the bill during the current parliamentary session,
but it is also considering deploying the MSDF to waters off the coast of
Somalia under the policing provision as a stopgap measure.
Piracy has been rampant in waters around Somalia, including the Gulf of Aden,
which ships coming to and from the Suez Canal pass through.
A total of 111 piracy incidents took place in the region last year, up from 44
the previous year. Three cases involved ships that were either
Japanese-registered or operated by Japanese firms, according to the Foreign
Ministry.
Forty-two ships were hijacked in the region last year and some of them are
still being detained, with about 300 crew members held hostage, the ministry
said. The bandits are often heavily armed, such as with rockets and automatic
rifles.
To combat the pirates, more than a dozen countries, including the United
States, European Union nations and China, have sent naval vessels to the waters
around the Horn of Africa nation.
Some of the countries are working to set up a contact group at Washington's
initiative to facilitate international coordination on antipiracy efforts in
the waters.
==Kyodo
Japanese-owned shipments can be grounds for Maritime Self-Defense Force
protection of non-Japanese ships if MSDF ships are deployed on an antipiracy
mission near Somalia under maritime policing rules, lawmakers of the ruling
coalition said Tuesday.
Such a legal interpretation could pave the way to expanding the target of MSDF
protection to many more non-Japanese ships navigating the pirate-infested
waters off the coast of Somalia.
The inability to protect non-Japanese ships from pirate threats under the
existing rules has been a sore point for the Japanese government as it
considers ways to contribute to international efforts to combat pirates in the
region.
The maritime policing provision in the Self-Defense Forces Law stipulates that
the SDF can be authorized to take necessary measures to protect lives and
assets at sea, which is generally taken to mean those of Japanese.
In line with this, the government has so far said the MSDF, when providing
maritime policing, can protect only Japanese-registered ships and others
operated by Japanese firms as well as ships with Japanese people aboard.
According to the lawmakers, who were briefed at a meeting of the ruling bloc's
antipiracy project team on Tuesday, government officials told them that it is
possible for the MSDF to provide protection to non-Japanese ships as long as
they are loaded with Japanese cargo because such cargo can be interpreted to be
Japanese assets.
The lawmakers say priority should still be given to Japanese-registered ships
and others operated by Japanese firms, partly because the number of MSDF ships
that can be deployed on such a mission will be limited anyway.
Meanwhile, Defense Ministry officials told team members that two shooting
incidents involving pirates in the Gulf of Aden can be taken as examples of
when use of arms could be justified as an act of self-defense or emergency
evacuation in maritime policing, the lawmakers said.
The cases concern a pirate boat captured by the British navy and a boat sunk by
the Indian navy, both last November. Both navies say they opened fire after
they were fired upon.
In the latter, the Indian navy claimed that its warship had sunk a pirate
''mother ship'' in self-defense, but a maritime watchdog later said the vessel
was actually a Thai fishing trawler seized by pirates. One crew member of the
boat died and 14 others went missing.
MSDF vessels providing maritime policing in Japanese territorial waters can
open fire on a fleeing ship to stop it, but they are unauthorized to use
weapons outside the waters, except in cases of self-defense or for emergency
evacuations.
The project team, set up by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior
partner, the New Komeito party, is considering drafting a bill specifically to
enable the dispatch of MSDF ships abroad on antipiracy missions.
The project team is expected to reach a conclusion by around mid-March so that
the government can submit the bill during the current parliamentary session,
but it is also considering deploying the MSDF to waters off the coast of
Somalia under the policing provision as a stopgap measure.
Piracy has been rampant in waters around Somalia, including the Gulf of Aden,
which ships coming to and from the Suez Canal pass through.
A total of 111 piracy incidents took place in the region last year, up from 44
the previous year. Three cases involved ships that were either
Japanese-registered or operated by Japanese firms, according to the Foreign
Ministry.
Forty-two ships were hijacked in the region last year and some of them are
still being detained, with about 300 crew members held hostage, the ministry
said. The bandits are often heavily armed, such as with rockets and automatic
rifles.
To combat the pirates, more than a dozen countries, including the United
States, European Union nations and China, have sent naval vessels to the waters
around the Horn of Africa nation.
Some of the countries are working to set up a contact group at Washington's
initiative to facilitate international coordination on antipiracy efforts in
the waters.
==Kyodo
