Japan to send warship and planes to the Middle East


Japan will send a warship and patrol planes to protect Japanese ships in the Middle East amid regional tensions.

Japan will send a warship and patrol planes to protect Japanese ships in the Middle East as the situation in the region, from which it sources nearly 90% of its crude oil imports, remains volatile, Reuters reported Thursday, citing a document approved by the cabinet.



Tensions between Iran and the US have increased since last year, when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and re-imposed sanctions on it, crippling its economy.

In May and June, there were several attacks on international merchant vessels, including the Japanese-owned tanker Kokuka Courageous, in the region, which the United States blamed on Iran. Tehran denies the accusations.

Following those incidents, the US announced plans to build a coalition of nations, known as Operation Sentinel, to protect shipping in the troubled waters of the Persian Gulf.

The US-led naval coalition officially launched operations in Bahrain last month.

Japan, a US ally that has maintained friendly ties with Iran, has opted to launch its own operation rather than join the US-led mission.

Last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe briefed visiting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tokyo’s plan to send naval forces to the Gulf, according to Reuters.

The planned operation is set to cover high seas in the Gulf of Oman, the northern Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, but not the Strait of Hormuz, the cabinet-approved document showed.



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