Japanese warship arrives in Bahrain
Manama : Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) Ship ‘Teruzuki’ arrived at Mina Salman port on Friday as part of a goodwill visit, the Japanese Embassy revealed yesterday.
Japanese navy officials received Bahraini counterparts at the ship yesterday and gave them a tour around the warship.
The visit is intended to strengthen maritime relations between Japan and Bahrain.
Rear Admiral Tatsuya Fukuda, Commander at the Combined Task Force 151 of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force stated that Japan places huge importance on the maritime security in the Gulf region.
“This area is very important to Japan and so we continue to keep up our contribution to this region. We are keen to further cooperate with countries in the region to help ensure maritime security here,” he said.
He said that collaboration between nations is needed to counter the threat of piracy. “We enjoy strong relations with various navies around the world. We will continue to help Bahrain in its counter piracy operations. Strong collaboration is necessary in countering the threat of piracy” he said.
Speaking about his tenure as commander of the Combined Task Force, he said that he has witnessed four piracy incidents so far.
“We confirmed 4 incidents since the start of my tenure. One of the incidents was that of an oil tanker which was attacked off the coast of Somalia. Somali pirates hijacked the tanker that had 8 crew onboard,” he said.
The ship has come to Bahrain following a two day visit to Sri Lanka, also as a part of goodwill and training.
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