The Japanese peacekeeping contingent in Cambodia is a unit of the Japanese armed forces that participated in the UN mission in Cambodia (UNTAC ) in the UN peacekeeping force [2] .
| Japanese peacekeeping contingent in Cambodia | |
|---|---|
| Years of existence | 1992 - 1993 |
| A country |  Japan |
| Subordination | United Nations Peacekeeping Operations Assistance Headquarters [1] |
| Enters into | UN peacekeeping force |
| Includes | 608 servicemen [2] 75 police officers [2] |
The first mission of Japanese troops outside the country after the end of the Second World War [2] [3] .
History
In January 1992, UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali appointed a Japanese diplomat, Yasushi Akashi, responsible for organizing the UN mission in Cambodia [4] .
On June 26, 1992, the Japanese government allocated US $ 75 million to finance UNTAC activities [5] , and further a headquarters for the promotion of UN peacekeeping operations was created from the staff of the National Defense Department of Japan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan , headed by Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa [1] .
On August 12, 1992, it was officially announced that it intended to send a Japanese contingent of about 730 people to Cambodia (8 military observers, 600 soldiers of the engineering battalion, 75 police officers and 50 civilians) [6] .
The first Japanese troops arrived in the country on September 20, 1992 [7] [2] , they were stationed in the province of Takeo and mainly operated in the southern part of the country [3] .
45 miles south of Phnom Penh was built Camp Camp Takeo, which became the base for the Japanese UNTAC contingent [3] . After the construction of the base was completed, the main functions of the Japanese servicemen during their stay in the country were road construction and repair and restoration work (during their stay in the country, the Japanese engineering battalion repaired roads 2 and 3, as well as the bridges on them) [2] .
On March 20, 1993, during a landing in a Siem Reap city, a transport helicopter Mi-17 crashed. As a result of the accident, 19 of the 23 people on board were injured, six of them were hospitalized. One of the most severely injured was the employee of the Japanese contingent UNTAC Junko Mitani , who was thrown out after a helicopter collided with the ground (he received serious spinal injuries and was evacuated to Phnom Penh ) [9] .
On April 8, 1993, a Japanese UNTAC officer [10] [3] Atsuhito Nakata and his translator ( Lay Sok Phiep from Cambodia ) [11] were shot and killed by unidentified persons in the province of Kompong Thom .
On May 4, 1993, a Khmer Rouge attacked a convoy of six UNTAC vehicles in the province of Banteymeantey , opened fire with small arms, and then fired an anti-tank grenade launcher. The Japanese police officer Haruyuki Takata [3] was killed in a shootout with the attackers, two more Japanese policemen and five Dutch marines were wounded [12] . After that, several other Japanese police officers voluntarily left the place of service in rural police stations and returned to Phnom Penh, saying that they want to stop the participation of the UN mission and return to Japan [13] . Four of them on the UNTAC car crossed the border with Thailand and arrived at the Japanese embassy in Bangkok [3] . These events caused a public outcry in Japan, and the media and the government began discussing whether Japan could withdraw from the UN operation in Cambodia [14] .
In July 1993, the Japanese government began to reduce the number of UNTAC contingents [3] .
On September 12, 1993, the Camp Takeo base (14 barracks and other buildings and structures) and the remaining property of the Japanese UNTAC contingent (furniture, tools, medicines, food, etc.) worth over $ 11 million were donated by the Japanese government. to the government of Cambodia [15] . After that, in September 1993, the Japanese contingent left Cambodia [2] .
Total number and organizational structure
The Japanese peacekeeping contingent in Cambodia was led by United Nations Peacekeeping Operations Assistance Headquarters [1] .
The UNTAC Japanese contingent included:
- ceasefire observers who acted in concert with UN forces. The first eight soldiers were in the country from September 1992 to March 1993, the second group of observers consisting of 8 soldiers was in the country from March to September 1993 [2] ;
- an engineering battalion of 600 Japanese self-defense ground forces personnel engaged in construction and repair work, as well as transportation, warehousing and security of UN cargo. The first 600 soldiers were in the country from September 1992 to April 1993, the next 600 soldiers were in the country from March to September 1993 [2] ;
- police contingent - 75 Japanese police officers who were in the country from October 1992 to July 1993, they were at police departments and trained local police [2] ;
- civilian personnel — 41 people (18 civil servants and 23 volunteers) who were in the country from 23 to 28 May 1993 and were present at the elections held in the country as observers [2] .
The Japanese contingent had about 300 pieces of equipment: jeeps, trucks, bulldozers , cranes and other construction equipment [16] .
The total number of participants in the operation in Cambodia was 1,332 people [2] , the loss - 2 people dead [17] and at least 3 people injured and injured.
Subsequent events
On December 11, 2014, the Japanese government allocated $ 500,000 to the Japan Mine Action Service organization for the implementation of demining activities in Cambodia along with local demining specialists [18] . In September 2016, she allocated $ 833,332 for the continuation of this work [19] . In February 2018, the Japanese government allocated more than $ 300,000 to continue this work [20] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Japan // "Foreign Military Review", No. 10, 1992. p. 62
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Japanese participation in UN Peacekeeping Cambodia / official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Philip Shenon. Peacekeepers in Cambodia raises questions and criticism / / "The New York Times" on October 24, 1993
- Camb Cambodia Camb UPI of January 9, 1992
- ↑ Japan donates to UNTAC // "The Phnom Penh Post" dated September 25, 1992
- ↑ Japan may send troops to Cambodia in mid-September // UPI of August 12, 1992
- ↑ Japanese UNTAC troops arriving in Cambodia // "The Phnom Penh Post" on September 25, 1992
- ↑ Chris Burslem. Mi-17s grounded after SR crash // "The Phnom Penh Post" dated March 26, 1993
- ↑ Som Sattana. Six injured in crash of UN helicopter // UPI from March 20, 1993
- ↑ UN volunteer killed in Cambodia // UPI from April 8, 1993
- ↑ Merrill Goozner. Cambodia slaying angers Japanese // "Chicago Tribune" of April 9, 1993
- Is Japanese is slain in UN on Cambodia // “The New York Times” of May 5, 1993
- ↑ Terry McCarthy. It was May 11, 1993, " To quit the UN contingent "
- ↑ Leslie Helm. Peacekeeper's death provokes a crisis in Tokyo. Japan Los Angeles Times dated May 14, 1993
- ↑ Moeun Chhean Nariddh. Japanese leave $ 11m // "The Phnom Penh Post" dated September 24, 1993
- ↑ Leo Dobbs. Japanese building bridges with locals // "The Phnom Penh Post" of January 15, 1993
- ↑ Fatalities by Nationality and Mission // UN official website
- ↑ Ros Chanveasna. Japanese grant for mine clearance // "Khmer Times" of December 11, 2014
- ↑ Ros Chanveasna. Japan gives money for demining // "Khmer Times" from September 22, 2016
- ↑ Mom Kunthear. Japan Mine Action Center grants more than $ 300,000 // "Khmer Times" dated February 28, 2018
Literature
- Japanese Peacekeepers Cambodia. Janes Defense Weekly vol. 18, October 31, 1992.