March 29, 2024 16:05 (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
PM Modi to kickstart BJP's Lok Sabha poll campaign from Meerut | Kangana Ranaut in Mandi: 'Don't think I am a heroine, consider me as your sister and daughter' | Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav demand high-level probe into Mukhtar Ansari's death | PM Modi has mastered art of manipulating democracy, hurting Constitution: Mallikarjun Kharge | Mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari dies of cardiac arrest at 63
Japan's plans to send patrol ship to Gulf of Oman unaffected by Iran-US conflict: Gov't

Japan's plans to send patrol ship to Gulf of Oman unaffected by Iran-US conflict: Gov't

India Blooms News Service | @indiablooms | 08 Jan 2020, 12:16 pm

Tokyo/Sputnik/UNI: The confrontation between the United States and Iran does not affect Tokyo's plans to send a warship to patrol the Gulf of Oman, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday.

In late December, the Japanese government decided to send a destroyer to patrol and collect information in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Arabian Sea.

"At the moment, the course has not changed," Suga said at a briefing, commenting on the issue.

Tokyo will monitor the situation and fully prepare to send self-defense forces to the region, he added.

The one-year operation will also involve the Lockheed P-3 Orion coastal surveillance aircraft. A total of 260 Japanese troops will take part in the operation. It is expected that they will start the mission in February. They are allowed to use weapons only in case of emergency to protect Japanese ships. The mission's budget for 2020 is 4.7 billion Japanese yen (about $43 million).

The patrol zone will not include the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Japan has reportedly taken such restrictive measures so that the sending of its self defense forces to this area does not overshadow its historically friendly relations with Iran.

Tensions in the Middle East dramatically escalated after Qasem Soleimani, who led the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) elite Quds Force, was killed in Baghdad on Friday in a US drone strike ordered by US President Donald Trump. Early on Wednesday, the IRGC announced the beginning of the operation to avenge Soleimani's death and launched surface-to-surface missiles at US facilities in Iraq.  

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.