Japan said Friday it is considering dispatching Self-Defense Forces vessels and planes to the Middle East, without joining a U.S.-led coalition to guard shipping traveling through the Strait of Hormuz amid tensions involving Iran.The government is likely to decide by the end of the year whether to dispatch the SDF to collect more information on the region to help ensure safe navigation, a government source said.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed ministers at a National Security Council meeting to study the possibility of the SDF dispatch, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a pres…READ FULL ARTICLE
