Two Japanese patrol planes left Okinawa for the Middle East on Saturday in what will be the Self-Defense Forces' first long-term intelligence-gathering mission abroad.

The dispatch came a day after Defense Minister Taro Kono issued a dispatch order intended to ensure the safety of Japan-related commercial ships passing through the region, on which Tokyo relies heavily for its crude oil imports.

The P-3C Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol planes will start the mission on Jan. 20, while the destroyer Takanami will leave Japan on Feb. 2, according to the Defense Ministry.