Ruling parties largely agree on defense force's antipiracy mission

TOKYO, Jan. 20 Kyodo -
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the New
Komeito party, basically agreed Tuesday to a proposal to deploy Maritime
Self-Defense Force vessels to waters off Somalia on an antipiracy mission under
a maritime policing provision.
The antipiracy project team of lawmakers from both parties will formally
approve the proposal Thursday after they discuss it in their respective
parties, the lawmakers said.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada is expected to direct the MSDF by the end of
this month to prepare for the deployment.
Preparation would take at least a month, however, as rules of engagement and
communication methods must be established before the dispatch, according to an
MSDF officer.
The dispatch will be made under a provision in the Self-Defense Forces Law that
enables the SDF to act in place of the Japan Coast Guard to protect Japanese
lives and assets at sea or to maintain order at sea.
But because under such a provision weapons can only be used in self-defense or
to avert imminent danger outside Japanese territorial waters, the Defense
Ministry has been less than eager to deploy the MSDF overseas on antipiracy
operations.
At Tuesday's meeting, lawmakers on the project team agreed to work on
submitting to the current parliamentary session around early March a bill to
specifically authorize the SDF to be deployed for such operations.
The legislative effort reflects an attempt to assuage the concerns Defense
Minister Hamada has expressed over the dispatch under the policing provision.
He has repeatedly called for a new law to enable the MSDF to deal sufficiently
with pirate threats.
Once enacted into law, such legislation would be the new legal basis for the
MSDF's antipiracy operation, the lawmakers said, noting that the dispatch under
the policing provision would only be a stopgap measure.
Under the proposal, the MSDF would escort Japanese-registered ships and foreign
ships with Japanese crew members, passengers or shipments onboard while they
navigate off the pirate-infested coast of Somalia, including the Gulf of Aden.
Coast guard officials would board the MSDF ships to perform criminal justice
procedures, such as arrests, questioning and evidence collection, in the event
ships escorted by the MSDF encounter pirates, the lawmakers said.
The Defense Ministry would be tasked with coming up with rules of engagement
for the mission in coordination with other ministries and agencies concerned,
they said, adding that the dispatch would be reported to the Diet after Prime
Minister Taro Aso's Cabinet approves it.
On Tuesday, MSDF Chief of Staff Adm. Keiji Akahoshi said conditions for the use
of weapons are the most important element in executing an antipiracy mission,
but admitted that the MSDF has made little to no preparation for such a mission
so far.
''Ever since the Maritime Self-Defense Force was created, we have never
discussed, examined or provided education on piracy. So I have almost no idea
what the situation would be like,'' the admiral told a news conference.
''We will therefore discuss the matter and narrow things down by gaining as
much knowledge as possible on the conditions for the use of weapons so
commanders at sea will not waver over their judgments or their units will not
be confused,'' he said.
Japanese lawmakers and officials have been discussing an MSDF dispatch to
waters off the coast of Somalia as more than a dozen countries, including the
United States, European Union countries and China, have deployed their navies
to protect ships from pirates.
Seeking an early dispatch under the policing provision, Aso said Tuesday the
government is under heavy pressure from the domestic shipping industry to
dispatch the MSDF quickly.
''If the maritime police activity turns out to be insufficient, then we have to
proceed to consider the legislation of a new law,'' he also said at a meeting
of the House of Councillors Budget Committee.
==Kyodo
2009-01-20 22:15:27