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| Thursday, 18 December 2003 |
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Japan to start sending troops to Iraq Feb 21 TOKYO, Wednesday (Reuters) Japan, committed to sending military personnel to Iraq but cautious about their safety, is planning to send its first substantial contingent of 135 ground troops there on February 21, a national daily said on Wednesday. Quoting a Defence Ministry proposal, the Mainichi Shimbun said Japan would first send an advance party of 28 troops on January 14 to begin preparations, followed by a 78-strong logistics team on January 31. The 135 troops will then leave, and a total of around 550 troops will be in place by the end of March, according to a ministry proposal which the paper said had been presented to the ruling coalition. Chief government spokesman Yasuo Fukuda declined to comment on the report. "The Defence Agency is working on it. I have nothing further to say at this stage," he told reporters. Polls have shown most Japanese oppose the dispatch of troops until the security situation improves, due to fears for their safety amid daily attacks on U.S. and other coalition troops. Thousands of people took part in a demonstration in Tokyo last weekend to protest the dispatch. Meanwhile South Korea's government ended months of divisive debate Wednesday by announcing its final decision to send a contingent of 3,000 troops to support US-led stabilization efforts in Iraq. The decision endorsed at a cabinet-level security meeting chaired by President Roh Moo-Hyun provides for the deployment of combat and non-combat troops who will undertake an independent rehabilitation operation in the war-torn country, the president's office said. However, the contingent will not ensure the security of the region in which it is deployed, National Security Advisor Ra Jong-yil said. "The South Korean contingent will take on responsibility for support of Iraqi peace and rehabilitation, and will independently take charge of a certain region," he said. "The Iraqi military and police will be in charge of security in that region." The decision must be endorsed by parliament and a motion will be sent to the National Assembly next week, Ra said. |
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