Missing MH370: Japan has no problems with Malaysia over search operation

KUALA LUMPUR: Japan has no particular problems with Malaysia over the massive search and rescue (SAR) operation for the missing MH370.

In what is being described by the international media as the most baffling mysteries in modern aviation, Japan’s ambassador-designate to Malaysia Dr Makio Miyagawa has denied that the information given by the Malaysian Government in the SAR operation was uncoordinated.

During a press briefing at the ambassador’s residence here Tuesday, he said that to date, there had been no such impression from the Japanese SAR team members.

“There are 107 officers, comprising members of Japan’s Ministry of Defence and Coast Guard, based at the Subang Airport, and there has been no such problem from the Malaysian Government.

“The Malaysian Government has been cooperating with us, giving us quite a good amount of information, very timely and swiftly. Therefore, we have no particular problems with regard joining this operation,” he added.

To a question on whether Japan would suspend its SAR mission, Miyagawa said Japan would not suspend its cooperative action to assist Malaysia but rather, continue and expand assistance based on the new prevailing circumstances.

He said Japan had refocused its attention to the south east part of Indonesia, located along the line of the southern arch (corridor), but would depend on the latest circumstances and the Malaysian Government’s coordination.

Apart from that, he noted that Japan had not faced any legal hindrances for the SAR mission, with regard to carrying out its search operation in the southeast part of Indonesia.

He also stressed that the Malaysian Government had been doing very well and Japan would offer its continuous support as much as possible and show solidarity with the Government and its people.

Tokyo dispatched a Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) team on March 11, in response to Kuala Lumpur’s request for assistance on the missing MAS MH370 aircraft.

On March 8, the Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with 227 passengers and 12 crew members went off the radar at 1.30am, about an hour after taking off from the KL International Airport. – Bernama