ID :
52980
Tue, 03/31/2009 - 07:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/52980
The shortlink copeid
Japan begins antipiracy mission off Somalia, escorts 5 ships+
TOKYO, March 30 Kyodo - Japanese destroyers began their antipiracy mission off the coast of Somalia on Monday, marking the start of the first such mission abroad for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, the Defense Ministry said.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's 4,650-ton Sazanami and 4,550-ton Samidare
began escorting three automobile carriers and two tankers -- all operated by
Japanese firms -- in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, it said.
''Although (the mission) would be an added hardship for Maritime Self-Defense
Force personnel, I expect them to do their best to keep Japanese ships from
suffering casualties or pirate attacks,'' Prime Minister Taro Aso told
reporters on Monday before the mission began.
The ships gathered on the eastern end of the gulf to move westward to the Red
Sea over a distance of some 900 kilometers as MSDF patrol helicopters keep
watch from the sky, the ministry said. The escort is expected to take about two
days to complete.
The MSDF destroyers left their base in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, on March 14,
the day after Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered their dispatch under the
pretext of the maritime police action provision of the Self-Defense Forces Law.
Under the provision, the SDF can protect only Japan-linked ships, such as
Japanese-registered vessels, foreign-registered ships with Japanese nationals
or shipments on board and others operated by Japanese firms.
In accordance with the execution of police duties law, the provision also
allows weapons to be used against pirates only in limited circumstances, such
as for self-defense.
To better deal with pirate threats, the Japanese government has submitted a
bill to parliament that would loosen restrictions on the use of weapons and
authorize the SDF to protect any ships, regardless of their Japanese
connections.
Piracy has been rampant in waters around the Horn of Africa, counting 111 cases
last year, more than double a year earlier. The cases accounted for roughly
one-third of all piracy incidents in the world.
Often armed with heavy weapons, such as rocket launchers and automatic rifles,
the pirates attack large cargo ships and tankers to demand ransoms for the
release of their crew.
Several Japan-linked ships, including a tanker operated by a Japanese firm,
have come under pirate attack in the waters in the past year or so.
Japan follows other countries, including the United States, European Union
nations and China, that have sent naval ships to the waters in support of U.N.
Security Council resolutions on combating piracy off the Somali shores.
==Kyodo
2009-03-30 23:45:53
The Maritime Self-Defense Force's 4,650-ton Sazanami and 4,550-ton Samidare
began escorting three automobile carriers and two tankers -- all operated by
Japanese firms -- in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, it said.
''Although (the mission) would be an added hardship for Maritime Self-Defense
Force personnel, I expect them to do their best to keep Japanese ships from
suffering casualties or pirate attacks,'' Prime Minister Taro Aso told
reporters on Monday before the mission began.
The ships gathered on the eastern end of the gulf to move westward to the Red
Sea over a distance of some 900 kilometers as MSDF patrol helicopters keep
watch from the sky, the ministry said. The escort is expected to take about two
days to complete.
The MSDF destroyers left their base in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, on March 14,
the day after Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered their dispatch under the
pretext of the maritime police action provision of the Self-Defense Forces Law.
Under the provision, the SDF can protect only Japan-linked ships, such as
Japanese-registered vessels, foreign-registered ships with Japanese nationals
or shipments on board and others operated by Japanese firms.
In accordance with the execution of police duties law, the provision also
allows weapons to be used against pirates only in limited circumstances, such
as for self-defense.
To better deal with pirate threats, the Japanese government has submitted a
bill to parliament that would loosen restrictions on the use of weapons and
authorize the SDF to protect any ships, regardless of their Japanese
connections.
Piracy has been rampant in waters around the Horn of Africa, counting 111 cases
last year, more than double a year earlier. The cases accounted for roughly
one-third of all piracy incidents in the world.
Often armed with heavy weapons, such as rocket launchers and automatic rifles,
the pirates attack large cargo ships and tankers to demand ransoms for the
release of their crew.
Several Japan-linked ships, including a tanker operated by a Japanese firm,
have come under pirate attack in the waters in the past year or so.
Japan follows other countries, including the United States, European Union
nations and China, that have sent naval ships to the waters in support of U.N.
Security Council resolutions on combating piracy off the Somali shores.
==Kyodo
2009-03-30 23:45:53
