Afghan SDF detachment eyed

Tokyo is considering sending Self-Defense Forces personnel to the headquarters of the international security mission in Afghanistan as a way of aiding the war-torn country, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Wednesday.

"The possibility is not zero, but (the SDF dispatch) is not decided yet," Kitazawa said about the plan to send SDF liaison officers to join the International Security Assistance Force.

"The Defense Ministry has floated the idea as Japan's possible contribution."

Kitazawa said he presented the ministry's idea during a Cabinet meeting last Friday that involved Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and National Public Safety Commission Chairman Hiroshi Nakai among others, but added the Cabinet as a whole will make a final decision.

The ISAF is the international security and development mission in Afghanistan led by NATO. It was created under a U.N. Security Council resolution in 2001 and is intended to help the Afghan government pave the way for reconstruction and effective governance.

Tokyo has been considering an alternative support plan for Afghanistan as Japan is set to terminate its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around the conflict-ravaged country in January.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force has been providing fuel and water to foreign naval vessels in the Indian Ocean, but the mission will end Jan. 15 as the Democratic Party of Japan-led government has no plans to extend it.