Dispatch of SDF dispatch personnel to the Middle East commenced.Minister of Defense Kono Jan. 17, 16:44
Following a closing review of the Upper House Diplomacy and Defense Committee over the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces to the Middle East, Minister of Defense Kono was dispatched to the U.S. Central Navy HQ in Bahrain in the Middle East by a liaison officer dispatched from the U.S. on Thursday. Has started.
At the Diet session, Foreign Minister Mogi and Minister Kono Defense were attending the SDF's dispatch to the Middle East, and a review was conducted during the closing session, followed by the Lower House Security Committee in the morning and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the afternoon. It was opened.
Among them, Masahisa Sato of the Liberal Democratic Party stated, "The most important thing for the crew is information, and it is extremely important that the crew gather at the headquarters. I want to hear the situation such as dispatching liaisons."
In response, Minister Kono said, "A Maritime SDF was dispatched to the U.S. Central Navy Command in Bahrain in the Middle East and started operations on this month. We want to make the sharing go smoothly. Dispatching the SDF is a Japan-specific initiative, and we are not considering sharing information with the Volunteer Union at the moment. "
On the other hand, Hiroyuki Konishi, who belongs to factions such as the Constitutional Democratic Party, wrote, "Does the information collected by the SDF include information on the Iranian army?"
In response, Minister Kono said, "The purpose is to confirm and collect information that may affect the safety of the vessel's navigation, such as the presence of suspicious vessels and signs of contingencies. All vessels are subject to information gathering activities and we do not consider excluding vessels from certain countries based on nationality. "