KLANG: Two Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) ships — JS Izumo (DDH-183) and JS Murasame (DD-101) — docked at Port Klang here today for a four-day visit to the country.
The arrival of the ships led by Rear Admiral Hiroshi Egawa at the Boustead Cruise Centre Terminal, Pulau Indah, was welcomed by Royal Malaysian Navy deputy chief Vice Admiral Datuk Khairul Anuar Yahya.
JS Izumo, weighing 19,980 tonnes and 248m long, is JMSDF’s largest ship while JS Murasame is 4,550 tonnes and 151m long.
The two ships are operated by about 600 crew members and officers.
During the course of the visit, JMSDF will hold several meetings with RMN high-ranking officials to strengthen the relationship and cooperation between the two parties.
Meanwhile, at a joint press conference afterwards, Khairul Anuar said the presence of the two ships in the country was expected to further enhance cooperation between Japan and Malaysia, especially in terms of maritime security.
Egawa said Japan is keen to enhance the co-operation between Indo- Pacific countries regarding safety, crime prevention and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR).
“In the last few years,we have seen a lot of disasters in this region and we (Japan) have a lot of experience in HADR and would like to share this,“ he said. — Bernama
