ID :
184424
Wed, 05/25/2011 - 19:03
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/184424
The shortlink copeid
U.S. military predicts at least 10 years for Futenma relocation
TOKYO, May 25 Kyodo - The U.S. military and the U.S. Department of Defense predict that it would take at least 10 years for a key U.S. Marine Corps base to be relocated within Okinawa Prefecture in line with a Japan-U.S. accord, sources close to Japan-U.S. relations said Wednesday.
This forecast was conveyed to influential U.S. senators including Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan and chairman of the Senate Arms Services Committee, who has proposed scrapping the relocation plan and instead integrating it into another U.S. military facility in Okinawa.
Levin and two other senators -- Jim Webb, a Democrat from Virginia, and John McCain, a Republican from Arizona -- have recommended integrating the Marines' Futenma Air Station into Kadena Air Base, both in Okinawa, saying the current relocation plan is unrealistic.
The latest admission by the U.S. forces that implementing the bilaterally agreed relocation plan would take longer than earlier planned is expected to complicate the already protracted negotiations over the base relocation due to strong opposition from locals who want the base out of the prefecture, political pundits say.
The sources said Webb told former Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara during their talks last Friday in Washington that he heard from the top U.S. military brass that the relocation, if it were to be realized, would take at least 10 years to be fully completed.
Webb cited as a reason the need to obtain the Okinawa governor's approval for tasks such as demolishing existing facilities and reclaiming land, the sources said.
Levin also said both Japan and the United States share the thought that the current plan is not feasible but are reluctant to make this view public, they said.
Webb also said during their meeting with Maehara that the fighter fleet at Kadena will likely be moved to Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture under the integration plan, the sources said.
The suggestion is aimed at avoiding a possible increase in aircraft noise around Kadena when it accepts helicopter troops from the Futenma airfield.
Under the Futenma-Kadena integration plan, Webb touched on the need to move Kadena's fighter fleet to other parts of Japan and said that while about three locations could be considered, the most likely candidate would be Misawa, according to the sources.
The three senators' proposal for integrating the Futenma and Kadena air bases, however, has also been met by strong opposition from people in the Kadena area fearing further increases in intense noise from U.S. military aircraft.
Tokyo and Washington struck an accord in May last year on the relocation that basically endorsed the existing 2006 pact, which sets 2014 as the deadline for relocation.
Under the deal, the Futenma Air Station will be transferred from a residential area in Ginowan to the less densely populated coastal area of Henoko in Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture.
But in the wake of continued protests by Okinawa, the two countries are expected during their ministerial security talks planned for late June to retract the 2014 deadline.
This forecast was conveyed to influential U.S. senators including Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan and chairman of the Senate Arms Services Committee, who has proposed scrapping the relocation plan and instead integrating it into another U.S. military facility in Okinawa.
Levin and two other senators -- Jim Webb, a Democrat from Virginia, and John McCain, a Republican from Arizona -- have recommended integrating the Marines' Futenma Air Station into Kadena Air Base, both in Okinawa, saying the current relocation plan is unrealistic.
The latest admission by the U.S. forces that implementing the bilaterally agreed relocation plan would take longer than earlier planned is expected to complicate the already protracted negotiations over the base relocation due to strong opposition from locals who want the base out of the prefecture, political pundits say.
The sources said Webb told former Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara during their talks last Friday in Washington that he heard from the top U.S. military brass that the relocation, if it were to be realized, would take at least 10 years to be fully completed.
Webb cited as a reason the need to obtain the Okinawa governor's approval for tasks such as demolishing existing facilities and reclaiming land, the sources said.
Levin also said both Japan and the United States share the thought that the current plan is not feasible but are reluctant to make this view public, they said.
Webb also said during their meeting with Maehara that the fighter fleet at Kadena will likely be moved to Misawa Air Base in Aomori Prefecture under the integration plan, the sources said.
The suggestion is aimed at avoiding a possible increase in aircraft noise around Kadena when it accepts helicopter troops from the Futenma airfield.
Under the Futenma-Kadena integration plan, Webb touched on the need to move Kadena's fighter fleet to other parts of Japan and said that while about three locations could be considered, the most likely candidate would be Misawa, according to the sources.
The three senators' proposal for integrating the Futenma and Kadena air bases, however, has also been met by strong opposition from people in the Kadena area fearing further increases in intense noise from U.S. military aircraft.
Tokyo and Washington struck an accord in May last year on the relocation that basically endorsed the existing 2006 pact, which sets 2014 as the deadline for relocation.
Under the deal, the Futenma Air Station will be transferred from a residential area in Ginowan to the less densely populated coastal area of Henoko in Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture.
But in the wake of continued protests by Okinawa, the two countries are expected during their ministerial security talks planned for late June to retract the 2014 deadline.
