Japan to end Afghan refuelling mission in January
14 October, 2009
OKYO: Japan will in January end its Indian Ocean naval refuelling mission that supports the US-led military campaign in Afghanistan, the defence minister said Tuesday. “Japan will withdraw in an orderly way, based on the law” when legislation authorising the mission expires, said Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, confirming what the government has repeatedly signalled. Kitazawa also said Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s government, which took power last month, ending a half century of nearly uninterrupted conservative rule, has so far taken no action for a fresh bill to relaunch the mission. The minister added that Japan was considering other forms of support for Afghanistan, saying: “We want to firmly discuss what international contribution we can offer if we have to do so.” Kitazawa made the remarks a day after Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada also said in Pakistan that it would be “difficult in reality” for the government to submit to parliament a bill to continue the mission. Hatoyama has proposed new, non-military support for Afghanistan such as job training for former Taliban soldiers as a possible alternative to the refuelling mission. The Indian Ocean mission - which began in December 2001 and was periodically renewed by Japan’s previous, conservative government - provides the US-led coalition with fuel and other logistical support. While in opposition, Hatoyama’s Democratic Party of Japan briefly forced a halt to the mission through parliamentary manoeuvres, arguing that Japan - officially pacifist since World War II - should not abet “American wars.” End.
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