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Typhoon Haiyan: Japan sends first major deployment of relief troops

 
Published on Nov 18, 2013
3:27 PM
Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defence Force prepare equipment and supplies for Typhoon Haiyan victims on Sunday, Nov 17, 2013, at the airport in Tacloban, Philippines. Japan on Monday, Nov 18, 2013, dispatched two warships, carrying some 650 troops, to the typhoon-ravaged Philippines in the first major contingent of the military's largest overseas aid deployment. -- PHOTO: AP

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan on Monday dispatched two warships, carrying some 650 troops, to the typhoon-ravaged Philippines in the first major contingent of the military's largest overseas aid deployment.

The two vessels, also carrying six helicopters, left the western port of Kure and are scheduled to arrive in the Philippines on Friday, said a defence ministry spokesman.

He added that Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are sending a total of 10 planes Monday to the disaster-struck nation - seven C-130 transport planes, two KC-767 tanker planes and one U-4 multi-purpose support aircraft.

The troops' duties will include providing medical support and transporting relief goods. An advance team of about 50 SDF personnel was sent last week while the total troop deployment was expected to rise to almost 1,200 in all.

But the timeline for sending the remainder of the troops was not immediately clear.

It is the first time Japanese troops have been active in Leyte - an area hit hard by Super Typhoon Haiyan - since the island turned into one of the biggest battlegrounds of World War II when US forces counter-invaded in 1944.

The 1,180-strong contingent will be the largest single relief operation team ever sent abroad by Japan's defence forces.

 
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