Japan to deploy warship, aircraft in Middle East for vessel protection

The Japanese government said on December 27 that Tokyo will send a military vessel along with two patrol planes to protect waterways in the Middle-East but will not join the United States-led coalition in the region. This move from Japan came after several attacks in the Gulf included an attack on Japanese tanker and oil installations by Saudi Arabia. The US, the western countries and the kingdom have placed the blame of attacks on Iran which denies its involvement. 

Japan has planned to deploy a destroyer to the region for intelligence activities along with two P3C patrol aircraft. The Chief secretary Yoshihide Suga told the reporters that this move by the nation is its 'own measure' towards peace and stability in the Middle East along with ensuring the safety of Japanese vessels. As per reports, nearly 90 per cent of crude oil in Toyo is imported from the same region. 

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Tensions in Middle East

The tensions in the Middle East have soared in 2019 when Tehran accused of attacking Saudi mines and then attacking or seizing others near the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The US has also formed a naval coalition for the protection of its vessels in the Middle East, which have huge significance for global oil supplies. For the US, Britain and Australia are relevant Western partners who have also agreed on sending warships to escort commercial shipping in the Gulf. However, reportedly most European countries have denied participating amidst fears of undermining their efforts to save the nuclear accord with Iran after the US withdrew from it last year. 

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Reportedly, the Japanese patrol services will not be operational in the Strait of Hormuz through which most of the global oil trade passes and the US-coalition is deployed. A defence ministry spokesperson told an international agency that the Self Defence Forces (SDF) will be deployed in the high seas in the Gulf of Oman, the northern Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Even though Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has encouraged the use of arms and campaigned for it since years, Japan's fascist constitution after World War II commits strickly to defensive capabilities. Japan is a close ally to America but is also said to have close relations with Iran. 

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(With agency inputs)