Recently, an escort ship belonging to Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force left the port of Maizuru for the sea off Somalia. It was the third time that a warship set sail for the sea at the naval base from March 2019, as well as Japan’s 38th dispatch under the signboard of “coping with piracy”.
Meanwhile, another escort ship of the Maritime SDF returned to port after finishing its duty in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Arabian Sea. The Japanese authorities decided to extend the term of activities in the region for one year until December this year under the pretext of continuing tension in the Middle East.
Japan’s bid for prolonging activities of its warships in the sea off Somalia under the cloak of “escorting” its vessels cannot be tolerated as it is a dangerous move of the war criminal state which is rushing headlong to overseas expansion.
Japan has constantly been expanding the operational waters of the Maritime SDF on the basis of the law on coping with piracy enacted in 2009 and the “defence programme” initiated in late 2013 shifting the emphasis from homeland security to international security.
Now, many Japanese war vessels including the escort ships are taking turns to roam around the Gulf of Oman, the northern Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
What cannot be overlooked is that the Maritime SDF vessels operating overseas are maintaining full combat readiness according to the guidelines approved by the authorities, specifying that use of weapons is possible in case of unpredictable situation. It is more than clear that if a battle really takes place, Japan would openly launch an overseas invasion taking advantage of the situation.
Though Japan heavily advertises that the dispatch of vessels is intended to safeguard the “artery of world economy” and “peace” and “security” in the Indo-Pacific region, it is just a trick for covering up its wild ambition for overseas expansion. Its present behaviour calls to mind the Japanese militarists who had provoked wars in the Indian and Pacific oceans clamouring for “peace in the East”.
Therefore, a French institute has denounced Japan, saying it unhesitatingly enforces military actions that go against the constitution under the pretext of “anti-pirate fight”.
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