Japanese govt orders SDF dispatch to iraq

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 19, 2003

Japanese govt orders SDF dispatch to iraq

Japanese Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba ordered Friday the dispatch of an Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) unit to Iraq.

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Japanese Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba ordered Friday the dispatch of an Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) unit to Iraq.

But the government remains undecided on when to send the troops.Japanese media reported the first ASDF unit would start next Friday and the main force of the ground force is expected to leaveJapan in February.

The advance ASDF team, which is expected to have more than 40 members, will assess the local security situations in Baghdad, Kuwait and Qatar before the dispatch of core ASDF units in January,Ishiba said Thursday.

Ishiba issued the order a day after issuing guidelines for implementing the planned deployment of Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to Iraq.

Last week, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration decided on a basic plan to dispatch SDF troops to Iraq to provide humanitarian and reconstruction assistance.

Ishiba said Thursday that Japan may suspend the dispatch of ground troops if security in Iraq further deteriorates and risks over the safety of the Japanese troops.

Under the detailed guideline, the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) personnel will carry out operations in Samawah, southeasternIraq, mainly on water supply, medical services, renovation of schools, hospitals and other public facilities.

As for the ASDF, it will transport relief goods on transport planes, multipurpose aircraft and government jets to airports in locations such as Baghdad, Basra and Mosul.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force will use the port at Umm Qasr, and its vessels will help transport GSDF personnel as well as material to be used by them, according to the document.

A law passed in July authorized the SDF to provide humanitarianassistance to Iraqis. But the unstable security situation delayed an early dispatch. Two Japanese diplomats were shot dead on Nov. 29 in northern Iraq.

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