Japan, US agree base to stay on Okinawa
Source: Agencies |
May 29, 2010, Saturday
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WASHINGTON and Tokyo have agreed to keep a contentious United States Marine base in the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, reaffirming the importance of their security alliance amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
In a joint statement yesterday, the two allies agreed to move the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko, in a less crowded, northern part of the island.
The decision is broadly in line with a 2006 deal forged with the previous, conservative Japanese government, but represents a broken campaign promise on the part of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Hatoyama came to office last September promising to create a "more equal" relationship with Washington and move the base off the island. It hosts more than half the 47,000 US troops stationed in Japan under a 50-year-old joint security alliance.
But after months of searching and fruitless discussions with Washington and Okinawan officials, the prime minister acknowledged earlier this month that the base needed to stay in Okinawa.
The statement appeared to highlight rising tension surrounding the March sinking of a South Korean ship blamed on a North Korean torpedo. "Recent developments in the security environment of Northeast Asia reaffirmed the significance of the Alliance," it said.
Hatoyama's decision, which he had pledged to deliver by the end of May, has angered tens of thousand of island residents who complain about base-related noise, pollution and crime, and want Futenma moved off the island entirely.
US military officials and security experts argued it is essential that Futenma remain on Okinawa because its helicopters and air assets support infantry units on the island. Moving off the island could slow coordination and response in times of emergency.
Under a 1960 security pact, American armed forces are allowed broad use of Japanese land and facilities. In return, the US is obliged to respond to attacks on Japan and protect the country under its nuclear umbrella.
The US and Japan "recognized that a robust forward presence of US military forces in Japan, including in Okinawa, provides the deterrence and capabilities necessary for the defense of Japan and for the maintenance of regional stability," said the statement issued by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa.
Reaffirming the 2006 deal comes as a relief for Washington. In a phone conversation with US President Barack Obama yesterday, Hatoyama said Obama "expressed appreciation that the two countries could reach an agreement."
The White House also said Obama and Hatoyama pledged to work closely with South Korea in the wake of the sinking of the Cheonan, for which North Korea has denied responsibility.
In a joint statement yesterday, the two allies agreed to move the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko, in a less crowded, northern part of the island.
The decision is broadly in line with a 2006 deal forged with the previous, conservative Japanese government, but represents a broken campaign promise on the part of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Hatoyama came to office last September promising to create a "more equal" relationship with Washington and move the base off the island. It hosts more than half the 47,000 US troops stationed in Japan under a 50-year-old joint security alliance.
But after months of searching and fruitless discussions with Washington and Okinawan officials, the prime minister acknowledged earlier this month that the base needed to stay in Okinawa.
The statement appeared to highlight rising tension surrounding the March sinking of a South Korean ship blamed on a North Korean torpedo. "Recent developments in the security environment of Northeast Asia reaffirmed the significance of the Alliance," it said.
Hatoyama's decision, which he had pledged to deliver by the end of May, has angered tens of thousand of island residents who complain about base-related noise, pollution and crime, and want Futenma moved off the island entirely.
US military officials and security experts argued it is essential that Futenma remain on Okinawa because its helicopters and air assets support infantry units on the island. Moving off the island could slow coordination and response in times of emergency.
Under a 1960 security pact, American armed forces are allowed broad use of Japanese land and facilities. In return, the US is obliged to respond to attacks on Japan and protect the country under its nuclear umbrella.
The US and Japan "recognized that a robust forward presence of US military forces in Japan, including in Okinawa, provides the deterrence and capabilities necessary for the defense of Japan and for the maintenance of regional stability," said the statement issued by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa.
Reaffirming the 2006 deal comes as a relief for Washington. In a phone conversation with US President Barack Obama yesterday, Hatoyama said Obama "expressed appreciation that the two countries could reach an agreement."
The White House also said Obama and Hatoyama pledged to work closely with South Korea in the wake of the sinking of the Cheonan, for which North Korea has denied responsibility.
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