Posted on 10/22/2006 5:51:54 AM PDT by maquiladora
TOKYO, October 22 (Itar-Tass) - Japan intends to involve destroyers and reconnaissance planes so as to shadow all ships, passing by its coast towards North Korea. The local press reported on Sunday that under a government plan, the country’s self-defence forces would take under their control the Korean Strait (Tsushima Islands) and the East Chinese Sea northwest of Okinawa Island.
If a suspicious ship is spotted, Japan will inform of it the United States which earlier stated its decision to inspect all cargoes, carried to North Korea or exported from it in order to find out nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and related materials, writes the Iomiuri newspaper.
Pyongyang has no right to carry such cargoes on a decision of the UN Security Council which adopted a resolution on sanctions against North Korea in response to the nuclear test, carried out on October 9.
Japan cannot search North Korea ships by force over constitutional limitations, but expresses readiness to render “rearguard support” to the US in this case, including fuel supplies.
Tokyo unilaterally imposed tough sanctions on Pyongyang right after the nuclear test, fully barring North Korea import and banning calls by North Korea ships to Japanese ports. Japan, presiding now at the UN Security Council, intends to submit a new resolution on additional measures of economic pressure on Pyongyang, which will be adopted in case of the second nuclear explosion.
The government intends to conduct inspections of cargo to and from North Korea in the Tsushima Strait and in waters northwest of Okinawa, in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution, sources said Saturday.
As part of sanctions imposed in response to North Korea's nuclear test, the government is considering deploying several destroyers and P-3C patrol aircraft of the Maritime Self-Defense Force to the two sea areas and airspace.
According to the outline of the government's action plan on possible inspections of cargo to and from North Korea, the MSDF is expected to engage in warning and surveillance activities regarding ships heading to North Korea.
If a suspicious ship is spotted, the MSDF is to notify and provide information to U.S. forces and other foreign forces deployed in waters off the coasts of North Korea.
The government plans to coordinate with the United States and other countries to complete the outline, according to the sources.
Following the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Japan on Wednesday, the government and the United States began working-level talks on details of planned ship inspections. A government source said that, other than the United States and Australia, ships from countries such as Britain, France, Russia and South Korea might participate in the inspections.
In regards to coordinating ship inspections, units from participating countries, including U.S. forces, will be deployed in waters on either side of the Korean Peninsula--in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.
Japan will monitor cargo ships on routes linking the Sea of Japan, the Tsushima Strait and the Nansei Islands--comprised of the Satsunan islands and the Ryukyu islands, in the Tsushima Strait and the waters northwest off Okinawa.
In the airspace above the waters surrounding Japan, the MSDF will deploy P-3C surveillance aircraft while the Air Self-Defense Force will deploy AWACS surveillance planes and E-2C early warning aircraft to monitor for any North Korean fighter planes.
If a suspicious ship is spotted, the SDF will monitor and pursue it while alerting U.S. Navy vessels making surveillance runs in the open sea and along the east and west coasts of North Korea.
The Tsushima Strait, which connects the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, is a key route for ships and is always crowded with maritime traffic.
The strait is divided into the East Channel, which flows between Iki and Tsushima islands, Nagasaki Prefecture, and the West Channel, which flows between Tsushima Island and the Korean Peninsula. Fifty percent to 70 percent of maritime traffic passes through the East Channel, with the rest going through the West Channel, according to the MSDF.
Japan plans to patrol and monitor the traffic in the East Channel.
In addition to these patrolling duties, the government is studying the possibility of conducting logistic support to U.S. warships, including fueling operations.
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Thanks.
It's a good start. Let's see if the Finance Ministry will now make some more yen available to pay for these operations.
-ccm
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