Britain urges Japan to continue refueling mission in Indian Ocean

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NEW YORK, Sept. 22 Kyodo -
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband pressed Japan Tuesday to continue its
refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism
operations in and around Afghanistan, Japanese officials said.
The top British diplomat made the pitch in a meeting with Japanese Foreign
Minister Katsuya Okada in New York. The new Tokyo government is aiming to
terminate the mission in January, when the law authorizing it expires.
The refueling mission, in place since 2001, was briefly halted in November 2007
after a temporary law authorizing it expired. The operations resumed after a
new law was enacted in January 2008 and were extended to January 2010 after an
amendment last December.
Okada, who is on his first diplomatic trip, met with Miliband on the sidelines
of a new session of the U.N. General Assembly. He also held separate talks with
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Singapore Foreign Minister George
Yeo.
Smith expressed hope for strengthening bilateral relations by signing a free
trade agreement between Japan and Australia, Japanese officials said.
Yeo meanwhile looked forward to welcoming Japanese Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama and Okada to Singapore in November, when the city state hosts annual
ministerial and summit meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum,
they said.
==Kyodo