Japanese Govt Orders SDF Dispatch to Support US Attacks

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 20, 2001

Japanese Govt Orders SDF Dispatch to Support US Attacks

The Japanese government on Tuesday ordered the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to provide non-combat logistical support in the Indian Ocean for U.S.-led military strikes on Taliban targets in Afghanistan.

Gen Nakatani, director general of Japan's Defense Agency, issued the order to the Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) and theAir Self-Defense Force (ASDF) after obtaining Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's approval for a detailed implementation plan for the SDF operation.

The dispatch marks the first time for Japan to deploy troops during a military conflict since the end of the World War II.

According to a copy of the plan, the troops' dispatch period has been shortened by about seven weeks from the time frame in a basic plan approved Friday. The mission would end on March 31 nextyear instead of May 19.

The plan does not include the dispatch of a destroyer equipped with the sophisticated Aegis air defense system as opposition politicians and some lawmakers within the ruling camp expressed caution about sending one abroad.

The plan approved Tuesday is based on a newly enacted law on Japan's cooperation in the military campaign. That law requires the government to seek Diet approval for the SDF dispatch within 20 days of issuing the order.

The Japanese government plans to submit a proposal for approvalon Thursday, after it is approved in a cabinet meeting, governmentofficials said.

The plan approved Tuesday calls for the dispatch of two supply ships, four destroyers, six transport planes, two multipurpose planes and one minesweeper tender to areas such as the Indian Ocean.

Three vessels that left Japan earlier in the month on an information-gathering mission will take part in the operation, according to the officials.

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