Tension fills Japanese force involved in antipiracy ops off Somalia+

ABOARD THE SAZANAMI, in the Gulf of Aden, June 8 Kyodo -
It has been roughly two months since Japan's first antipiracy operations began
off the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.

Here on the deck of the Sazanami -- one of the two Japanese Maritime
Self-Defense Force destroyers involved in the mission -- tension was evident
among the officers and sailors, who are engaged in the unprecedented mission
for the country's Self-Defense Forces.
On Saturday, about a dozen Japanese journalists were allowed onto the Sazanami
for the first time since it and the other destroyer, the Samidare, began
escorting Japanese-related commercial vessels in the waters off the Horn of
Africa in late March.
The reporters first boarded from a port on the Arabian Peninsula the Tokiwa, an
MSDF refueling ship deployed to the Indian Ocean to supply fuel to navy vessels
from countries involved in antiterrorism efforts in Afghanistan. Japan's
Defense Ministry asked that the port's name be kept secret for security
reasons.
After about 21 hours of voyage, the Tokiwa came into contact with the two
destroyers on the eastern end of the gulf. It then refueled them while a gunner
remained on watch beside a 12.7-millimeter machine gun on the deck.
As the sun shone brightly in sweltering heat and the sea heaved due to strong
winds, the reporters were transferred to the Sazanami by helicopter shortly
after noon.
Capt. Hiroshi Goto, who is leading the antipiracy mission, provided a glimpse
of the reality in the region where roughly one-third of piracy incidents
worldwide are currently taking place.
''We sometimes get radioed in by private-sector ships on suspicious vessels
more than 10 times a day,'' he said in an interview aboard the Sazanami.
Many of the calls, he said, come from ''high-risk'' vessels that pirates
apparently find easy to put a ladder up to due to their relatively slow speeds
and short length between the sea surface and their decks, which is typically
less than 5 meters.
When a call comes in to say a ship is being chased, a surveillance helicopter
is dispatched to check on the ship. A small vessel loaded with a ladder has
sometimes been spotted from the aircraft, according to Goto.
Although the MSDF cannot protect foreign vessels unrelated to Japan under the
current Japanese law, it has responded to check in on them or repel suspicious
vessels apparently after them on six occasions since late March. The ministry
has justified the responses as a humanitarian act.
Whereas the SDF's previous overseas missions involved relatively low risks by
being primarily logistical support, the latest mission seems to be more
dangerous in that the seamen would have to face armed pirates. Some even
mention the possibility that in the course of the mission, the SDF may use
weapons abroad for the first time.
''The pirate side has become less fearful of warships and helicopters, just as
illustrated by a recent incident where a U.S. refueling ship was fired upon,''
said Goto. ''I think my personnel are under pressure because the possibility of
firing warning shots (at pirate ships) is increasing.''
While harming pirates in self-defense and firing warning shots are permitted
under the Self-Defense Forces Law, such action may become an issue later in
connection with the constitutional restrictions on the use of weapons abroad.
Shortly before 4 p.m., the 4,650-ton Sazanami and the 4,550-ton Samidare began
their 25th escort mission to guide five commercial vessels through the roughly
900 kilometer stretch of the gulf to the mouth of the Red Sea.
Roughly 20 countries have sent warships to waters off the coast of Somalia to
counter a surge in piracy. According to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, 130 such
incidents took place in the first five months of this year, well over the 111
cases reported for all of last year.
Often armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles, sea bandits in
the region take over cargo ships and tankers at gunpoint and demand huge sums
of money in ransom.
About 10 percent of the roughly 20,000 ships that pass through the waters each
year are said to be Japanese-related tankers and cargo ships. In March, a car
carrier operated by a Japanese company came under attack from a suspected
pirate vessel although it managed to escape and no crew member was harmed.
==Kyodo