Japan to send their navy to Middle East

TOKYO: Japan has approved a contentious plan to send naval forces to the Middle East to ensure the safety of Japanese ships transporting oil to the energy-poor country that depends heavily on imports from the region.

The cabinet’s decision reflects tensions that have escalated between Iran and the US since President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal.

Under the plan, Japan will send about 260 maritime personnel with a destroyer and a pair of P-3C reconnaissance aircraft, mainly for intelligence-gathering in the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the Bab el-mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The operation is planned to begin early in the new year.

Japan will stay away from the Strait of Hormuz, where the Us-led coalition is operating.