Japan welcomes US patrols in Asia to prevent North Korea from evading sanctions
(Baonghean.vn) - Washington is planning to send US Coast Guard ships to the Asia-Pacific region to promote the implementation of international sanctions against Pyongyang, a move welcomed by Japan.
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| A North Korean oil tanker and an unidentified ship in the East China Sea. Photo: AP |
US officials have been in touch with their Japanese counterparts about the plan to send the ship, government sources said. The US Coast Guard is under the jurisdiction of the US Department of Homeland Security and is authorized to conduct surveillance operations as a military unit.
For their part, the Japan Coast Guard (MSDF) and the Japan Coast Guard have been patrolling the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea to monitor suspected violations of sanctions against Pyongyang.
So far, the MSDF has recorded three instances of suspected ships transferring cargo such as oil to other ships at sea. The Japanese Foreign Ministry has reported these incidents to the United Nations Security Council in an effort to maintain pressure on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons development program.
However, a senior Foreign Ministry official said: “What Japan can do is limited, and the current burden is very large.”
On February 7, during a meeting in Tokyo (Japan), Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Vice President Mike Pence agreed on the need to strengthen cooperation to handle the transportation and trade of oil and other goods to North Korea./.
