ID :
59905
Sun, 05/10/2009 - 20:08
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/59905
The shortlink copeid
Japan to order dispatch of P-3C aircraft for antipiracy mission Fri.
+
TOKYO, May 10 Kyodo -
The Japanese government plans to issue an order Friday for dispatching two of
the Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-3C patrol aircraft for an antipiracy
mission off Somalia, government sources said Sunday.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada is expected to issue the order after the plan
is approved by the Japanese government's top security panel and the Cabinet. It
will be the first time for Japan's P-3C planes to be dispatched on an overseas
mission.
Upon receiving the order, the Defense Ministry is set to send an advance team
promptly to Djibouti before dispatching the main unit in the latter part of
May, the sources said. The troops are expected to begin their mission in June
from their base at Djibouti airport.
The mission will involve about 150 personnel, including the P-3C's crew and
Ground Self-Defense Force members who will guard the airport, according to the
ministry. In addition, the Air Self-Defense Force will transport personnel and
necessary supplies to the airport.
The P-3C aircraft will complement the two MSDF destroyers that have been
conducting escort missions for Japan-linked commercial ships in the
pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, patrolling a vast area off the Horn of Africa.
The two patrol planes will look out for pirate boats in the area from the air
and provide information to the destroyers, Japan-related ships as well as
various countries' military vessels navigating the high seas, according to the
ministry.
The destroyers have escorted 44 Japan-linked vessels between late March, when
they began their mission, and last Wednesday.
Countries including Britain, France, the United States, Russia and China have
sent navy vessels to the region to patrol against pirates in support of U.N.
Security Council resolutions calling for international efforts to combat piracy
in the region.
Japan dispatched the two destroyers -- the Sazanami and the Samidare -- in
March under the Self-Defense Forces Law, which authorizes them to escort only
Japan-related commercial ships, including foreign-flagged vessels operated by
Japanese firms.
==Kyodo
TOKYO, May 10 Kyodo -
The Japanese government plans to issue an order Friday for dispatching two of
the Maritime Self-Defense Force's P-3C patrol aircraft for an antipiracy
mission off Somalia, government sources said Sunday.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada is expected to issue the order after the plan
is approved by the Japanese government's top security panel and the Cabinet. It
will be the first time for Japan's P-3C planes to be dispatched on an overseas
mission.
Upon receiving the order, the Defense Ministry is set to send an advance team
promptly to Djibouti before dispatching the main unit in the latter part of
May, the sources said. The troops are expected to begin their mission in June
from their base at Djibouti airport.
The mission will involve about 150 personnel, including the P-3C's crew and
Ground Self-Defense Force members who will guard the airport, according to the
ministry. In addition, the Air Self-Defense Force will transport personnel and
necessary supplies to the airport.
The P-3C aircraft will complement the two MSDF destroyers that have been
conducting escort missions for Japan-linked commercial ships in the
pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, patrolling a vast area off the Horn of Africa.
The two patrol planes will look out for pirate boats in the area from the air
and provide information to the destroyers, Japan-related ships as well as
various countries' military vessels navigating the high seas, according to the
ministry.
The destroyers have escorted 44 Japan-linked vessels between late March, when
they began their mission, and last Wednesday.
Countries including Britain, France, the United States, Russia and China have
sent navy vessels to the region to patrol against pirates in support of U.N.
Security Council resolutions calling for international efforts to combat piracy
in the region.
Japan dispatched the two destroyers -- the Sazanami and the Samidare -- in
March under the Self-Defense Forces Law, which authorizes them to escort only
Japan-related commercial ships, including foreign-flagged vessels operated by
Japanese firms.
==Kyodo
