Analysis | Trump’s strike on Soleimani: Japan’s Shinzo Abe embarrassed, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un laughing: analysts
- Assassination ends Tokyo’s efforts to mediate between Iran and US, but it can’t afford to cancel scheduled warship deployment, experts say
- Meanwhile, North Korea has a chance to test how much trouble Trump can handle at one time
The sudden escalation of tensions in the Middle East came exactly one week after the Japanese government approved the dispatch of a Maritime Self-Defence Force (MSDF) destroyer to the Middle East in February. The warship will be joined by a number of long-range patrol aircraft the following month.
The units will conduct operations in the Gulf of Oman, the northern Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden and will be tasked with ensuring the security of civilian Japanese ships and personnel. The Japanese warship will not operate in the Straits of Hormuz, considered a potential flashpoint and where several tankers have been attacked in recent months.
The Japanese government has been under pressure from Washington to commit units to the US-led coalition in the region but has purposefully limited its involvement to safeguarding sea lanes. Given the killing of Soleimani, Tokyo will hope to be able to remain at arms’ length, analysts believe.