Kyodo News International
Friday, November 15, 2013
Somali government officials visited a Japan Coast Guard base Friday in Yokohama to learn about maritime security strategies which the East African country hopes can help its battle against piracy.
Around 20 officials from Somalia saw training facilities and inspected a patrol ship docked at the base, which has been dispatched to areas around the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea at the heart of tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
Still reeling in the aftermath of decades of political instability and civil strife, Somalia has recently set up a national coast guard. But experts say more work needs to be done for it to function effectively.
"There are social, economic and other challenges but security is a major one," Somalia's deputy foreign minister Jamal Mohamed Barrow told Kyodo News in an interview.
The minister said the national coast guard, currently with around 500 people, is "in the starting phase but improving," adding that basic facilities and equipment are still needed.
"If you train people to drive a boat or ship, but there is no ship in Somalia, how can they utilize the skills?" Barrow said.
Questions from the Somali delegation to Japanese coast guard officials who briefed them centered largely on how to combat piracy but also on organizational matters.
Since 2009, the Japan Coast Guard has dispatched its members onboard Self-Defense Forces ships engaged in antipiracy missions off Somalia to work as law enforcement officers.
The visit by the Somali officials come after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said earlier this year that Japan will resume direct aid to the African country for the first time in decades. He also expressed hope Tokyo and Mogadishu would be able to share more knowledge and expertise through visits by Somali government officials to Japan.
"The process of bilateral cooperation has started between Somalia and Japan," Barrow said. He noted that bilateral support is "more effective and efficient" than help given under a multilateral framework as it takes more time.
Security concerns about Africa mounted in Japan after a hostage crisis in Algeria in which dozens of people were killed by terrorists, despite the resource-rich continent being seen as having high potential for growth.
Abe is looking to expand Japan's role as a "proactive" contributor to peace and security, and let the SDF join a multilateral antipiracy task force off Somalia from early December.