TOKYO, Feb. 8 (Kyodo) - Japan is considering the possibility of dispatching its coast guard to East Timor to take part in the U. N. peacekeeping operations there, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Friday.
''East Timor is still a newborn country,'' Machimura told a press conference.
''There is a need for coastal security as (such a security system) is still very weak, and I believe there is something Japan can do to cooperate in some way in this area at the initial stage.
'' The top government spokesman said related Cabinet members will discuss what assistance Japan can give to East Timor as well as other countries in need, given that Tokyo's participation in U. N. peacekeeping operations has been limited.
''We will consider the matter carefully among related ministers, not only with regard to East Timor but also whether other possibilities exist, and make efforts so that our country's international presence as a peace cooperation state will be made as visible as possible,'' Machimura said.
He mentioned that the only U. N. peacekeeping operation missions in which Japan is currently involved are in the Golan Heights and Nepal, where the Self-Defense Forces are participating in U. N. activities.
The Japanese police recently returned from East Timor after completing a one-year mission to help reform police management as part of the U. N. peacekeeping operations there.
If the envisaged dispatch to East Timor is realized, it would be the first time for the Japan Coast Guard to take part in U. N. peacekeeping activities.
East Timor gained independence from Indonesia in May 2002 with the assistance of the United Nations, but slipped into unrest last year when nearly 600 disgruntled soldiers out of the 1,400-member army were fired.
(Kyodo)
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