TOKYO, (Islamweb & News Agencies)-Japan is preparing to send ships on an information gathering mission to the Indian Ocean this week before dispatching a larger fleet to help US-led military operations in Afghanistan.The government would make a decision on whether to send the flotilla Thursday evening, the Nihon Keizai and Yomiuri newspapers said.
"The advance flotilla will track routes to Diego Garcia, a British territory in the Indian Ocean used as a base of operations and a dropping-off point for supplies. They will leave Japan on Friday," the Nihon Keizai said.
Cabinet members concerned will meet at Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's official residence late Thursday afternoon to finalise a plan to dispatch Maritime Self-Defence Force or MSDF ships to gather various data, the Yomiuri said, citing government sources.
Spokesmen from the Cabinet Office and the Defence Agency declined to comment.
Yomiuri said the initial fleet would not include a state-of-the-art Aegis class guided missile destroyer due to opposition among ruling coalition parties.
"The government will likely finalise a basic plan concerning the Self-Defence Forces' provision of noncombat logistic support ... at a cabinet meeting around November 16," the newspaper said.
Tokyo would then send a second MSDF fleet, carrying fuel and supplies, to the Indian Ocean on a supply mission by the end of the month, said the news reports.
"The fleet will be made up of a supply ship and two to three destroyers, including a vessel equipped with a sophisticated Aegis air-defence system," said the Nihon Keizai business daily.
The reported move to help the US-led military campaign became possible under a new Japanese law, passed on October 29, allowing Japanese military to give Washington non-combat support in its war against terrorism.
It marked the first time since 1945 that Tokyo has passed legislation enabling Japanese troops to operate outside Japan and its surrounding areas.
Japanese troops can now provide medical and logistical support to US forces in any action against Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, but are forbidden to operate in "combat zones."
Tokyo had long been reluctant to expand its military activity due to lingering fears in Asia of a potential revival of militarism in Japan, which victimised China and other Asian countries during and before World War II.
Japan's postwar constitution permanently renounces war and the threat or use of force to settle international disputes.