Japan’s warship sets sail on Mideast mission

Bloomberg

The centerpiece of Japan’s response to US calls for a Middle East security coalition — a single warship — sets sail on Sunday, on a mission that highlights just how few American allies have signed up.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Takanami, as well as two patrol planes, are taking part in what Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has said will be a yearlong intelligence-gathering deployment to protect vital oil shipments from the region.
But Japan has made sure those assets will be operating independently from the US and staying away from potential flashpoints in the Persian Gulf.
US allies such as Japan are walking a fine line to show support for President Donald Trump while minimising the risk of getting drawn into a larger conflict with Iran.
Many disagreed with Trump’s decision to withdraw from a 2018 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme and were alarmed over a flurry of violence last month that included the US’s targeted killing of top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
While Australia and the UK have each committed ships and are part of the US-led International Maritime Security Construct, others such as Japan, India and South Korea have sent vessels to the region with orders to act independently. France said it would deploy its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Middle East from
January to April to support European countries.
“The international response has varied from lukewarm to hostile,” said Ashley Townshend, director of foreign policy and defense at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre.
“Most US allies and partners have sensibly sought to stay out of the Persian Gulf deployment, which is — or at least could have been — an entirely avoidable mission, had Trump not withdrawn from the JCPOA and eschewed a cool-headed path of diplomacy.”

‘Zero Compensation’
The US began recruiting backers for the security coalition last summer after a series of attacks on tankers near the Persian Gulf, a strategic choke point that handles about one-third of the world’s seaborne crude oil.
Trump singled out Japan, which gets almost 90% of its oil from the Middle East, among the countries that were providing “zero compensation” for US protection.
Three regional rivals of Iran as well as Albania, have also signed up for the International Maritime Security Construct.