Friday, December 26, 2008
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada to press ahead with deliberations on how the armed forces could act against the pirates, the government's top spokesman told reporters.
"He ordered the defence minister to speed up considerations so that we can act quickly," Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura told reporters.
The dispatch could prove a legal and diplomatic headache for Japan, whose military activities overseas are tightly restricted by its post-World War Two pacifist constitution.
The naval dispatch would be the first by the country to the region. Japan's forces have not engaged in combat since World War Two though Japanese forces have been in Iraq to help in the country's reconstruction.
A surge in sea piracy in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off Somalia has seen some 110 ships reported to have been attacked and 42 hijacked this year. Fourteen of the hijacked vessels are still being held hostage by the pirates, along with 240 crew, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
In September this year, Somali pirates released a Japanese ship and its 21-member crew after a $2 million ransom was paid, three months after the vessel's capture.
Japanese Prime Minister Aso said Tokyo would consider first sending ships under an existing marine security law, adding that passing a fresh law would take time.
The current law only permits the navy to protect Japanese vessels, a restriction that could lead to criticism from other countries whose ships are patrolling the area.
With the opposition-dominated upper house of parliament likely to stall any attempts at new legislation, the passage of any bill on the naval dispatch would be difficult.
NATO and the European Union are among the international bodies that have ships patrolling waters off Somalia. (Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Valerie Lee).
Source: Reuters, Dec 26, 2008