NAHA, Okinawa Pref.: Two P-3C patrol planes of the Maritime Self-Defense Force departed the MSDF Naha base in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, on Saturday for an information-gathering mission in the Middle East.

The mission was approved at a cabinet meeting late last month before tensions in the region shot up following the US assassination of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.

While the opposition camp was demanding the government cancel the MSDF deployment plan, Defense Minister Taro Kono on Friday ordered the Middle East mission.

"Peace and stability in the Middle East is essential for peace and stability in the world," Kono told the planes' crew members before their departure. "I want you to work hard with courage and pride."

The air surveillance unit has about 60 MSDF members. It will be replaced in about three months. It will start the mission Jan. 20 after arriving at a base in Djibouti and having drills.

The unit will engage in information-gathering activity to help ensure the safety of Japanese-related ships sailing in the region, as well as operations against pirates in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia that started in 2009.

Around 11 a.m. (2 a.m. GMT), the two MSDF airplanes took off, receiving a send-off from about 50 relatives of the unit members.

"We have no worries as we've been trained for every possible situation," the unit's chief, Shuichi Inou, 37, told reporters.

On Feb. 2, the MSDF destroyer Takanami, with about 200 crew members, is slated to leave port for information gathering in waters including the Gulf of Oman and the northern part of the Arabian Sea.

JIJI Press