Japanese defence forces plan Middle East mission

Japan plans to send its military to help protect waterways in the Middle East, Kyodo news agency reported Wednesday (October 23rd).

The move comes after attacks on tankers in the Gulf, as well as on Saudi Arabian oil installations, that have been widely blamed on Iran, AFP reported.

Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi informed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of Tokyo's plan in a phone call on Tuesday, Kyodo said.

Middle East tensions have soared since early this year, when Iran was accused of attaching mines to several tankers off Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and then attacking or seizing others near the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

The US formed a naval coalition to protect navigation in the region, which is critical to global oil supplies, and Britain and Australia have agreed to send warships to escort commercial shipping in the Gulf.

Japan is considering sending two destroyers to the region, including one already on an anti-piracy mission off Somalia, Kyodo said.

But the ships are not expected to operate in the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the global oil trade passes and where the US-led coalition operates, the report said.

Most of Japan's oil imports come from the Middle East.

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