Japan Approves Controversial Plan To Deploy SDF Troops To Egypt

Japan Approves Controversial Plan To Deploy SDF Troops To Egypt

TOKYO, Japan, April 3 (NNN-MENA) – The Japanese government approved deploying Self-Defence Force (SDF) personnel, to join a multinational peacekeeping force in Egypt, for the first time, since the controversial new security legislation came into effect in 2016.

Japan’s cabinet green-lit the contentious plan, to dispatch two SDF members to join the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO), a multinational peacekeeping force in Egypt, which is not under the command of the United Nations.

The pair will be sent to the Sinai Peninsula, in the first such deployment, since controversial security legislation came into effect in 2016, amid a staunch political, public and international backlash.

The SDF personnel will be dispatched to the MFO’s headquarters on April 19, and will stay there until Nov 30, under the government’s current plans.

They will be charged with facilitating communication and other liaison duties, between Israeli and Egyptian forces, the government here said.

The MFO, for its part, overseas the ceasefire between Egypt and Israel, under a peace treaty inked in 1979, after the Arab-Israeli War.

The MFO have had a presence on the peninsula since 1982, with support from Japan, up until now, coming in the form of financial assistance.

The government here also believes the current situation in Egypt does not breach the five legal requirements necessary for participating in UN peacekeeping missions, one of which includes the existence of a ceasefire agreement among warring parties.

The imminent deployment, the first of its kind since Japan loosened the constraints of the SDF under the postwar pacifist constitution, and the first non-UN-backed overseas mission for Japanese troops, has, however, drawn a great deal of flak from those opposed to the move and other military plans potentially in the pipeline.

The green-lighting of the SDF’s deployment to Egypt has also been interpreted by critics as a litmus test, ahead of Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe’s plans to amend the pacifist charter for the first time since World War II, to further loosen the constrains on Japan’s forces and allow them to increase their footprint in overseas theatres.

To achieve his goal, Abe will need to secure a two-thirds majority in a vote, in both houses of parliament and a majority in a public referendum.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) coalition, Komeito ally, however, is wary of amending the constitution, Article 9 of which forever renounces war and prohibits Japan from maintaining armed forces with war potential.

The majority of the public are also against the contentious move.– NNN-MENA

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