Japan will consider deploying Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol aircraft again to the multinational anti-piracy operations off Somalia, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, according to Japanese officials.

In a Sunday meeting with Vice Adm. John Miller, commander of the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet, in Bahrain, Abe said it is very important to contribute to the international community's efforts with the dispatch of the MSDF aircraft. Miller lauded the plane's capabilities, the officials said.

The Japanese government decided in July that an MSDF escort vessel will join a combined operation from December involving countries that include the United States, Britain and Australia to prevent pirates from approaching commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden.