Japan set to expand SDF role in S. Sudan from May under new laws

The government is making arrangements to expand the role of a Self-Defense Forces mission in South Sudan as early as next May under the security legislation enacted last week, government officials said Tuesday.

Under the plan, the SDF personnel dispatched to the African country as part of U.N. peacekeeping operations would be newly allowed to go to the aid of other countries’ troops or U.N. staff under attack.

It could become the first case of practical application of the security laws, which are expected to be enforced around the end of next March.

The controversial legislation enacted on Saturday despite strong protests from opposition lawmakers and voters allows the SDF to use force in defending allies under armed attack and expands the scope of its use of arms in U.N. peacekeeping operations.

SDF personnel operating in U.N.-led peacekeeping missions had been forbidden from rescuing either peacekeepers from other countries or civilian U.N. personnel who come under attack in areas other than those in which the SDF members are deployed.

According to the officials, the government plans to decide on new rules of engagement for the SDF by the end of this year to specify circumstances in which use of weapons are permitted.

SDF personnel will then be trained based on the new rules, and a new peacekeeping operation implementation plan for South Sudan including the newly added rescue duties will be approved by the Cabinet, the officials said.

Japan has sent SDF troops to South Sudan since 2012 to help develop infrastructure. The African country became independent from Sudan in 2011 following over two decades of civil war.

==Kyodo

Category: Daily Witness, National