Announcement of activities of the Maritime Self-Defense Force unit dispatched to the Middle East No response to suspicious vessels March 13 13:25
For the first time, the activities of the Maritime Self-Defense Force units dispatched to the Middle East have been announced. As information gathering activities, it was confirmed that there were about 500 escort ships and about 2,500 patrol aircraft, but there was no response to suspicious ships.
In dispatching the SDF to the Middle East, the P3C patrol aircraft and escort vessels have been on duty to collect information necessary to secure the safety of ships related to Japan. We announced the situation for the first time.
According to this, the escort ship “Takanami” operating in the Gulf of Oman, etc., confirmed the affiliation and course of about 500 ships and merchant ships in four days from the start of operation on last month.
In addition, P3C patrol aircraft on the mission of gathering information in parallel with anti-piracy measures in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia have confirmed about 2500 ships in about 40 days since the start of their activities on January 20. .
According to the Ministry of Defense, none of the units responded to suspicious ships or received rescue requests from private ships.
This is the first case in which the SDF is dispatched overseas for a long period of one year, based on the “Survey and Research” of the Ministry of Defense's Establishing Law, where the Ministry of Defense responds to suspicious vessels, etc. States that it will announce each time.