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TOKYO : Japan could offer more development aid to Afghanistan in place of a naval support mission for US-led operations in the war-torn country, new Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada hinted on Sunday.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said he would end the naval refuelling mission early next year, and his foreign minister Okada reiterated on Sunday "we won't simply extend the mission" beyond January when it expires.
The Indian Ocean mission - which began in December 2001 and was periodically renewed by Japan's ousted conservative government - provides fuel and other logistical support to the US-led coalition.
But when asked about alternative contributions, Okada said he hoped to help stabilise the situation through financing development and aid programmes.
"If Japan can generate the situation where Taliban soldiers on the frontline would be able to feed their family members and offer education, then the situation in Afghanistan will change," he said.
"There is a significant number of people who work for Taliban to earn money."
The activities of Japanese aid organisations are at a minimum, he added, due to the deterioration in the security situation.
"The areas where we can send civilians are limited to places where security is guaranteed," Okada said.
While in opposition, Hatoyama's centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) had criticised the Japanese government for supporting "American wars," vowing not to renew the naval mission.
The DPJ would seek to placate Washington by launching new humanitarian aid projects for Afghanistan instead, media reports have said, with Kyodo News reporting Japan will host an international aid meeting in November.
Meanwhile, new Prime Minister Hatoyama has a busy week ahead in the United States, where he is due to attend the UN General Assembly and the G20 summit and will meet with President Barack Obama on Wednesday.
It will be the first meeting between the two world leaders, two weeks after Hatoyama ended more than half a century of almost unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Foreign Minister Okada will also meet with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
On his talks with Clinton, Okada said: "I'd like to discuss the Japan-US cooperation on global issues such as global warming and nuclear (disarmament).
"The issue of the refuelling mission and aid to Afghanistan are intertwined, as the Obama administration places its weight on the Afghan issue... This should be seen as a package deal" Japan can offer to the United States, Okada said.
Excluding the possibility of sending Japanese troops to Afghanistan, Okada said: "What can the Self-Defence Forces do now?"
Under Japan's constitution, Japanese troops - called the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) - are barred from the use of weapons except for the strictest sense of justifiable defence.
"I think it's unrealistic to send the SDF to Afghanistan where other countries are considering the withdrawal of troops," he said.
"Japan has been highly valued by Afghan people because Japan has not sent troops", he said, noting that the United States had not requested that Japan send troops. - AFP/ms
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