Japan destroyers on antipiracy mission make 1st port call in Djibouti+

DJIBOUTI, April 6 Kyodo - Japanese destroyers dispatched on an antipiracy mission off the coast of Somalia made their first port call in the Horn of Africa country of Djibouti on
Monday.
The 4,650-ton Sazanami and the 4,550-ton Samidare of the Maritime Self-Defense
Force have been escorting Japan-linked commercial ships in the pirate-infested
Gulf of Aden since late last month to protect them from pirate attacks.
At Djibouti port, the destroyers are expected to receive fuel, water and other
supplies before leaving for more escort activities Tuesday, according to an
MSDF officer.
The mission off Somalia is the first antipiracy activity abroad for Japan's
Self-Defense Forces. The destroyers have been sent on the basis of the maritime
police action provision of the SDF law, which prohibits them from using weapons
against pirates, except in cases such as in self-defense.
The destroyers are to make occasional calls at the ports of Aden, Yemen and
Oman's Salalah, as well as Djibouti, and also receive fuel and other supplies
at sea from an MSDF refueling ship deployed to the Indian Ocean.
Last week, the Sazanami helped repel boats that are believed to have been
chasing a Singaporean tanker in the Gulf of Aden by beaming a searchlight at
them and announcing its presence with a loudspeaker.
Under the Japanese law, the destroyers are allowed to protect only
Japanese-registered ships, foreign-registered ones with Japanese nationals or
shipments on board and others operated by Japanese shipping firms.
The Singaporean tanker had no Japanese connections.
Japan and Djibouti reached a status of forces agreement last Friday that allows
MSDF P-3C patrol aircraft to conduct antipiracy patrol flights out of an
airport in Djibouti.
==Kyodo