FelixiaMarieSantiago
Japan The Japanese government will deploy 270 sailors to protect cargo ships in the Middle East after the US called for building a regional maritime union.
The plan to send 270 soldiers from the sea defense force to the Gulf of Oman and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, north of the Arabian Sea, was built by the Japanese government in accordance with a law that allows the deployment of troops abroad for research. Research and collect intelligence, Nikkei reported today.
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force in front of Makinami escort ship at Sasebo port, Japan Photo: Kyodo
Accordingly, the Japanese government will propose the deployment of an escort and a P3C patrol plane, which is engaged in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia, from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. family mission. This task will last for one year, and may be renewed annually. Japan will finalize this plan by the end of this year.
The deployment of armed forces abroad to research and gather intelligence is prescribed in the Establishment of the Ministry of Defense, so Tokyo's move will not violate the peace constitution, which prohibits Japan. sending military forces to fight overseas.
Japanese corvettes in the upcoming mission will not be equipped with firepower, but the weapons can still be used if the force is attacked.
The information was published in the context of the US-led maritime alliance beginning the International Maritime Security Construction (IMSC) campaign to escort boats across the Strait of Hormuz, a hot spot on the oil shipping route. from the Middle East. The coalition began to be called into the United States after Iran's oil tanker operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan has previously said it would not join the alliance, but instead deployed its forces independently, as Tokyo has close economic ties with Tehran.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated since 2018, when US President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and imposed sanctions that weakened Iran's economy. Japan, which stopped buying oil from Iran because of US sanctions, also wants to see stability in the Middle East, the region that exports a large amount of oil to the country.
