After Japan sent its first group of vessels to the Indian Ocean last November under a hastily enacted anti-terrorism legislation, six German warships arrived in Djibouti on Sunday to help patrol sea lanes from the Red Sea to the Gulf in support of the US anti-terror campaign, which is the biggest movement of the German fleet since World War Two according to Germany's navy spokesman Wolfgang Jungman.
Germany has already set up a logistical base in Djibouti with between 200 and 300 personnel on duty. The German patrols will get underway, probably at the beginning of February. The mission is due to last eight months to a year as part of efforts to prevent Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda fighters escaping to Somalia ruled by rival militias.
Meanwhile Japan plans send a new fleet of four warships to the Indian Ocean as early as next month to replace its warships already there to continue providing logistical support to US-led military operations in Afghanistan, Kyodo News reported on Monday.
The second group of warships will provide support services until mid-May, after which Japan will extend the mission term again and may dispatch a third group of war ships as US-led military operations in Afghanistan are likely to continue.
(Edited by Zheng Guihong for china.org.cn according to reports by Xinhua News Agency )
