afrol News, 28 May - The Japanese government has dispatched two maritime surveillance aircrafts and military personnel to beef up its anti-piracy mission off Somalia, the defence ministry has announced in a statement.

According to the ministry's statement, the two antisubmarine and maritime surveillance planes will be deployed at the Djibouti international airport and begin patrol flights in around mid-June in support of the two Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyers escorting Japanese-related ships in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden.

Tokyo in March sent two destroyers with a total of 400 crew to join the United States, China and other countries in the operation against pirates who have attacked ships off the Somali coast.

Local reports said since late March, the Japanese destroyers have safely escorted nearly 70 Japanese-affiliated commercial vessels in the waters. The Japanese aircraft will share surveillance information with other participating countries.

Rooting out piracy in Somali waters has become a priority for many countries which uses the waters for shipping goods to and from Europe.

Reports have revealed that the operation off Somalia is an unprecedented mission abroad for Japan, which could see its armed forces in combat for the first time since World War II.

Some 100 MSDF personnel, including the aircraft's crew and engineers, and about 50 Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) troops, will be involved in the air patrol operations.

Somalia has been without a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991. With lawlessness and continually weakened transitional government, pirates have taken the advantage targeting commercial and other vessels to demand huge ransoms or make away with the goods.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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