Japan May Send Navy Officers to Anti-Piracy Center, Sankei Says

By Sachiko Sakamaki

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Japan may send navy personnel to join an international taskforce designed to contain pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, the Sankei newspaper reported today without citing where it obtained the information.

The government decided yesterday to send the officers to the U.S.-led “contact group,” which will exchange information and coordinate naval operations involving the U.S., U.K. and other nations, the paper said. Prime Minister Taro Aso will inform Secretary of the State Condoleezza Rice of Japan’s plan, it said. Aso last week ordered the defense ministry to study dispatching Japanese navy ships to the region.

The United Nations Security Council decided earlier this month to allow combat in Somalia for one year to contain piracy. China dispatched three warships to the Gulf of Aden on Dec. 26. Pirates have seized at least 40 ships this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sachiko Sakamaki in Tokyo at Ssakamaki1@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: December 29, 2008 21:28