Japan to provide goods, services to U.S. military in emergency relief

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TOKYO, July 18 Kyodo -
The Defense Ministry has decided to extend the scope of a bilateral agreement
with the U.S. military on providing goods and services to each other so the
Self-Defense Forces will be able to cooperate with the U.S. side in
international emergency relief operations, sources familiar with the matter
said Sunday.
By submitting a bill for amending the Self-Defense Forces Law to an
extraordinary Diet session this fall, the ministry hopes to allow the 1996
Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement with the United States to expand its
fields of coverage.
Calls for the amendment have grown as another ACSA, reached with Australia in
May, already covers international emergency relief activities, and as the SDF
failed to respond to the U.S. request to transport its military personnel to
Haiti when a major earthquake hit the country in January on the grounds that
there was no legal basis for doing so.
The agreement with Australia is aimed at achieving bilateral cooperation in
U.N. peacekeeping operations as well as humanitarian assistance in major
disasters.
The Japanese government is also trying to reach another ACSA with South Korea
by starting talks with Seoul from this fall, the sources said.
The acquisition and cross-servicing agreements are aimed at providing food,
water, fuel and other goods as well as services including transportation and
repair between the militaries of contracting states.
==Kyodo
2010-07-18 22:32:43