Japanese defense head hopes Iraqi operation to expand SDF role
PLA Daily 2004-01-09
TOKYO, Jan. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Japanese Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday the humanitarian mission to be carried out by the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in Iraq would pay a way for its broader international role.
A successful Iraqi operation "would make it possible to shift the SDF's priority" to international peacekeeping and humanitarian activities, Ishiba said at a press conference.
The Japanese government would send troops to southern Iraq before March for humanitarian aid. An advance air force team left for Iraq late December for preparation.
Still, the government reportedly intends to revise its defense program to put international peacekeeping and anti-terrorism operations as its focus in the future.
Japan's previous participation in UN peacekeeping operations and US military activities drew controversy due to its pacifist constitution.
Ishiba also said the Dutch troops stationed in Samawah where the SDF personnel is to be based could handle possible attacks alone, suggesting the SDF will not get involved in armed conflict. The law authorizing the dispatch confines the SDF in "non-combat areas."
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