June17, 2009

The House of Councilors Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on June 16 held a hearing on the bill to send Self-Defense Force units to waters off the coast of Somalia on ‘anti-piracy’ missions.

Desmond John Molloy, senior adviser to the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Program of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), said that the anti-piracy missions using warships will be endless and will not be helpful in finding a fundamental solution because at present pirates are expanding their areas of activities to about 1,000 kilometers from the coast of Somalia.

Takabayashi Toshiyuki from the Japan Asia Africa Latin America Solidarity Committee (Japan AALA) pointed out that it is impossible to stop Somalis from committing piracy without rebuilding the nation of Somalia. He also emphasized that in order to resolve conflicts, the Japanese government should assist the African Union in its peace-making effort in Somalia.

While speaking in support of the bill, Yamada Yoshihiko, professor at Tokai University School of Marine Science and Technology underlined that it is necessary for all vessels navigating in waters off Somalia to take security measures by themselves, and stressed that as a medium- to long-term policy, an international anti-piracy measures which is similar to the one implemented in the Malacca Straits be taken in the waters off Somalia. - Akahata, June17, 2009