Fromt Strait Times Webby:
TOKYO - JAPAN was reported yesterday to be considering selling
decommissioned warships to Singapore and Malaysia to fight
terrorism and piracy, following a recent relaxation in Tokyo's
long-time ban on arms exports.
When asked to comment on the Japanese newspaper reports, a
spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Defence told The Straits
Times: 'There is no truth to the report.'
Malaysia also said it had not received any such offers.
Quoting government officials, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun said Tokyo
would propose selling used 1,000-2,000 tonne-class compact
destroyers and other warships belonging to the Self-Defence Force,
as well as Coast Guard patrol vessels.
If Japan eventually decides to sell the vessels, it would inform
Singapore and Malaysia next month, when its arms export ban was
relaxed, said the Yomiuri, whose report was lifted by the
Associated Press wire agency.
The plan to sell used warships was a response to calls for help
from South-east Asian nations in fighting terror and piracy
threats, the Yomiuri said.
It added that the warships would be exported minus the cannons and
other heavy armament because they were not needed to fight
pirates.
Currently, decommissioned warships are scrapped.
Analysts, however, have questioned the Yomiuri report, with Dr Khoo
How San, a defence analyst at the Institute of South-east Asian
Studies in Singapore, saying he found it 'puzzling and
intriguing'.
'Nowadays, it's what's inside warships that count, not outside. The
older warships are useless to us.
'The Japanese could also be floating a trial balloon but the
reactions are more likely to be flak than positive vibes. Countries
in the region are not ready to embrace Japan as an arms supplier,'
Dr Khoo told The Straits Times.
