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US to move 9,000 soldiers from Okinawa
The United States has made a deal with Japan to relocate 9,000 marines away from its southernmost island Okinawa to other locations in Asia-Pacific. The new plan will involve transferring thousands of marines to regions including Guam, Hawaii and Australia, nearly halving the number of US troops in Okinawa to 10,000.The deal, announced in a joint US-Japan statement, was unveiled just days before Yoshihiko Noda, Japans prime minister, heads to Washington next week to meet with his counterpart President Barack Obama. I am very pleased that after many years, we have reached this important agreement and plan of action, Leon Panetta, the US defence secretary, said in a statement. I applaud the hard work and effort that went into crafting it. Japan is not just a close ally, but also a close friend. Despite the agreement, questions are likely to continue in relation to the controversial relocation of the military base Futenma within Okinawa, an issue expected to be discussed by the two leaders in Washington. The issue has become a key source of tension in recent years in relation to the US-Japan security alliance, regarded as a critical partnership in maintaining regional power balance. The proposed relocation of the base from a populated area to a quieter location is widely opposed by locals, politicians and environmentalists, while Yukio Hatoyama, the former prime minister, resigned over the issue in 2010 after he was unable to keep his electoral promise to shift the base entirely off Okinawa. However, US politicians hope that the new deal in relation to the relocation 9,000 troops away from Okinawa may help break the policy deadlock that has surrounded the region in recent years as a result of opposition to Futenma. We think it breaks a very long stalemate . That has plagued our politics, that has clogged both of our systems, said Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Posted by: Steve White 2012-04-28 |
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