TOKYO, March 23 (UPI) -- Australia's foreign minister, on a visit to Tokyo, has said Australia won't blame Japan even if its troops are killed defending Japan's peacekeepers in Iraq.
In a speech to the Japan Institute for International Affairs Tuesday following his meeting with Prime Minster Junichiro Koizumi, Alexander Downer said the deployment of an additional 450 Australian troops to maintain security in Iraq's Muthanna province and protect Japanese troops there underlined Australia's commitment to its cooperative relationship with Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Wednesday.
The Japan Self-Defense Forces, established after the end of World War II, are constitutionally prohibited from taking part in combat but have been involved in some peacekeeping operations.
"We know that the initial decision to deploy defense forces to Iraq was a complex one for Japan, but it was the right decision to make, and we're very pleased to be working with Japan, and with other coalition partners, to help Iraq build a better future," Downer said.
Asked if Australian casualties while guarding Japanese forces would affect the relationship, Downer said, "We'll live with the consequences, as Australians, of our own decisions and not pass the blame to Japan if that happened."
