Japan Press Weekly

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2010 July 14 - 20 [POLITICS]

DPJ government decides to extend SDF dispatch to Somalia for another year

The SDF in March 2009 ordered the Maritime Self-Defense Force to dispatch destroyers to areas off Somalia’s coast to take part in an anti-piracy mission as a maritime security operation under the SDF Law. In May 2009, it also sent the MSDF’s P3C patrol aircraft to join the mission.

In June 2009, the so called “anti-piracy” law was enacted. The law was criticized as unconstitutional because although the Japanese Constitution prohibits the use of force abroad, the law allows the SDF to use force when engaged in “anti-piracy” missions.

At present, based on the law, the MSDF deploys two destroyers and two P3Cs to protect commercial vessels and conduct a maritime policing mission.

The Foreign Ministry’s data show that in 2009, the number of incidents of piracy in Gulf of Aden off Somalia doubled from 2008 to 217. This proves that military operations are useless to solve the issue of piracy. In order to eliminate pirates, the need now is to address the root causes such as the civil war and increasing poverty through diplomatic efforts and provide support for efforts to improve people’s living conditions.
- Akahata, July 17, 2010