Japan to Fully Use 2 Destoryers in Each Escort Service Off Somalia

Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)--Japan is considering fully using two
Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers to escort a single commercial vessel
in the country's antipiracy mission off Somalia, it was learned Monday.
The MSDF plans to dispatch its Sazanami and Samidare destroyers,
both based in the Kure base in the western Japan prefecture of Hiroshima, to
protect private-sector ships from possible attacks from pirates in the Gulf
of Aden.
The government plans to deploy the two destroyers in line
formation, one ahead of a private vessel they protect and the other behind
it, according to the Defense Ministry's operational manual for the mission.
It normally takes two days to sail through the gulf, which is about
900 kilometers in length, so the Japanese escort service will be available
only once every four days, defense officials said.
Such a line formation has already been used by other countries,
including China.
The ministry will also consider using the two destroyers separately
in different escort services after examining their actual operations, the
sources said.
According to the manual, the two destroyers will use their SH-60
patrol helicopters for surveillance of waters several hundred kilometers
ahead of them.
If the helicopters find pirate ships and these refuse to stop
despite warnings, the helicopters will fire warning shots to stop them, the
manual says.