Two Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers loaded ammunition Wednesday in preparation for their expected departure for the Indian Ocean, where they are to collect intelligence and conduct surveillance.
The Kurama, a 5,200-ton destroyer capable of carrying three helicopters, and the Sawagiri, a 3,550-ton destroyer that carries one helicopter, were loaded with antiaircraft missiles, torpedoes and bombs at Sasebo port in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Japan is said to be planning to send four MSDF vessels to the Indian Ocean to support an expected U.S. military strike against Afghanistan in retaliation for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. MSDF officials said the activity is not directly related to the Indian Ocean mission. The destroyers were simply carrying out a routine replacement of ammunition that had been unloaded earlier when the ships docked, they added.
However, employees of a company delivering food and supplies to the MSDF base said they had received orders for nearly double the usual amount.