- News>
- Archives
Japan to send 1,000 troops for 3 months to support US forces
Japan has agreed to send around 1,000 troops for three months to transport supplies for US forces in the Indian Ocean, a Japanese newspaper said on Saturday.
Japan has agreed to send around 1,000 troops for three months to transport supplies for US forces in the Indian Ocean, a Japanese newspaper said on Saturday.
Senior officials from both sides have met regularly over the past two week to discuss the role of Japan's military in the US-led war on terror. Under a new law, the Japanese self defence forces are allowed to provide non-combat support for US and British strikes in Afghanistan. In meetings on Wednesday and Thursday in Hawaii, the two sides agreed that Japanese warships would carry supplies – but no arms or ammunition - to US bases on the Island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, The Tokyo newspaper said. The three-month mission can be extended to six months, if both countries agree, the newspaper said.
US and Japanese officials will meet on Tuesday or Wednesday to finalise the arrangements, the newspaper said. A spokesman for the US Pacific command in Hawaii declined to comment.
The report comes a day after Japanese warships embarked for the Indian Ocean, in the first military operation of its kind since World War II. The three warships - two destroyers and a supply vessel - will scout sea lanes and gather information that will be used by military planners preparing to dispatch other Japanese units. Bureau Report
Senior officials from both sides have met regularly over the past two week to discuss the role of Japan's military in the US-led war on terror. Under a new law, the Japanese self defence forces are allowed to provide non-combat support for US and British strikes in Afghanistan. In meetings on Wednesday and Thursday in Hawaii, the two sides agreed that Japanese warships would carry supplies – but no arms or ammunition - to US bases on the Island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, The Tokyo newspaper said. The three-month mission can be extended to six months, if both countries agree, the newspaper said.
US and Japanese officials will meet on Tuesday or Wednesday to finalise the arrangements, the newspaper said. A spokesman for the US Pacific command in Hawaii declined to comment.
The report comes a day after Japanese warships embarked for the Indian Ocean, in the first military operation of its kind since World War II. The three warships - two destroyers and a supply vessel - will scout sea lanes and gather information that will be used by military planners preparing to dispatch other Japanese units. Bureau Report