Japan eyed sending destroyer off Africa to guard luxury cruise ships

Saturday 04th October, 06:05 AM JST

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7 Comments

rjd_jr at 07:48 AM JST - 4th October

Ask the French for help, they don't mess around.
fatloser at 10:48 AM JST - 4th October

This is Aso's big chance to be fight terrorism by sending the Japanese Navy on a historic mission. Their mission to protect rich Japanese !! Their course of action---to proudly ask other countries to do it, so if anything goes wrong they can BLAME THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OssanULTRA at 11:52 AM JST - 4th October

They should have sent the destroyer. At least the JMSDF crew would get some experience outside of pumping gas.
Alphaape at 12:12 PM JST - 4th October

GSDF personnel shooting themselves to get out of duty that is too hard, and now the government is too afraid to send a JMSDF destroyer to protect its own citizens as they pass through a high piracy area. Once again, the souls of those enshrined at Yasakuni must be turning over in their shrines.

I understand not wanting to go into Iraq, I can respect that. But, too afraid to send your own ships to protect your own citizens when that is what they are supposed to do, I find it too hard to believe. I wonder what would have happened if one of those ships was attacked by pirates. Are the Japanese politicians so afraid of public opinion polls that they would jeopardize they own self interests.
WilliB at 10:23 PM JST - 4th October

1600 Japanese tourists would be indeed be a prized catch for the Barbary pirates off Somalia.
bushlover at 11:31 PM JST - 4th October

Alphaape, read this again: [The government, however, concluded that protecting civilian cruise ships is out of the scope for the destroyer that was then operating in the Indian Ocean for Japan’s refueling mission for multinational antiterrorism forces]. Is that reason enough for you? It's out of their scope. They have other commitments.
Alphaape at 12:56 AM JST - 5th October

bushlover, what other commitments do they have? I actually work with the JMSDF. They are one of the largest navies in the Pacific region. It is not like they had to send a ship from Japan to cover. The ship was in the Indian Ocean. Here's a little information for you, as a former Operations Officer on a USN Fleet Oiler, we normally were alone and unescorted when working with battle groups. In other words, we may not have had much, but we could defend ourselves, especially since there were no hostile subs, ships or aircraft, much like the current situation in the Indian Ocean. The didn't send a ship, because they didn't have the "poitical will" to do so.