The Japanese government signed diplomatic documents Tuesday with some recipient countries benefiting from Japan's resumed refueling mission, asking them not to divert the oil to other purpose than antiterrorism operations.
Japanese Senior Vice Foreign Minister Itsunori Onodera signed the notes with U.S. Embassy deputy chief Joseph Donovan and ambassadors of Britain, France and Pakistan at the foreign ministry.
The ministry is scheduled to continue discussions with missions of Canada and Germany, and sign similar documents with them.
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda approved the idea in the morning.
According to the documents, the recipient countries must use supplies from Japan in accordance with Japan's new antiterrorism special measures law and refrain from transferring it to a third party without getting Japan's nod at first.
There emerged allegation later last year inside Japan, condemning that some oil provided by Japan had been used by the United States in its operations in Iraq.
Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) vessels left home ports in mid January for the journey to resume the refueling mission in the Indian Ocean to support the U.S.-led antiterrorism mission in and around Afghanistan. The refueling action may be back into order later this month.
The MSDF had been out of the refueling mission for more than three month since Nov. 1 because of the expiration of an original special measures law authorizing the mission and the void of a new legislation due to domestic political strife.
The ruling coalition managed the new bill through the Diet at last with the help of a controversial and seldomly-used parliamentary rule.
Source: Xinhua
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