ID :
29497
Mon, 11/10/2008 - 21:49
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/29497
The shortlink copeid
U.S. nuclear sub calls unannounced at Okinawa, prompts Tokyo protest
TOKYO, Nov. 10 Kyodo - A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine made a port call in Okinawa on Monday morning without giving the agreed prior notice to Japanese authorities, prompting Japan to lodge a protest and demand the U.S. Navy take measures to prevent any recurrence of such an incident, the Japanese Foreign Ministry's top diplomat said.
''I have been told that the U.S. side said there has been insufficient
communication (within the U.S. Navy) and we have strongly demanded that
measures be taken to ensure this will not happen again,'' Vice Foreign Minister
Mitoji Yabunaka told a news conference, adding that 24-hour monitoring by
Japanese authorities found no abnormalities with regard to radioactive
leakages.
The unannounced port call by the Los Angeles-class attack submarine Providence
at White Beach in Uruma of Okinawa Prefecture took place between 10 a.m. to
around noon, the ministry said.
The U.S. Navy has a nuclear submarine port at its White Beach Naval Facility.
James Zumwalt, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Japan, was quoted
by the ministry as saying in response to Japan's protest that the unannounced
port call was due to a communication error within the U.S. Navy and that it was
regrettable.
''The lack of prior notification is, from our point of view, a grave problem
and we have protested to the U.S. side,'' Yabunaka said. ''The U.S. side has
expressed its regrets and said it will strengthen measures to prevent any
recurrence, but we would like to continue efforts to make sure an appropriate
response is made.''
The entry of nuclear-powered vessels into Japanese waters is a sensitive issue
in Japan given its experience of U.S. atomic bombings in 1945 and its postwar
non-nuclear principles. In practice, the U.S. military notifies Japan of any
port calls by its nuclear submarines at least 24 hours ahead of time.
Concerns over the safety of U.S. nuclear-powered vessels have risen in Japan
recently due to a fire in May on the aircraft carrier George Washington, newly
deployed in Yokosuka, caused by unauthorized smoking by crew members, and the
leakage of radioactive water from the submarine Houston during past port calls
in Japan.
Monday's incident was the first unannounced call by a U.S. nuclear sub since
Japan and the United States confirmed the prior notification system in writing
in 2001 that the United States will inform Japan at least 24 hours in advance
of where and when its nuclear subs plan to stop in Japanese ports.
The 2001 agreement was made after the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Chicago
called at Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in April that year
without prior notice, the first time since such U.S. nuclear sub visits began
in November 1964.
''I have been told that the U.S. side said there has been insufficient
communication (within the U.S. Navy) and we have strongly demanded that
measures be taken to ensure this will not happen again,'' Vice Foreign Minister
Mitoji Yabunaka told a news conference, adding that 24-hour monitoring by
Japanese authorities found no abnormalities with regard to radioactive
leakages.
The unannounced port call by the Los Angeles-class attack submarine Providence
at White Beach in Uruma of Okinawa Prefecture took place between 10 a.m. to
around noon, the ministry said.
The U.S. Navy has a nuclear submarine port at its White Beach Naval Facility.
James Zumwalt, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Japan, was quoted
by the ministry as saying in response to Japan's protest that the unannounced
port call was due to a communication error within the U.S. Navy and that it was
regrettable.
''The lack of prior notification is, from our point of view, a grave problem
and we have protested to the U.S. side,'' Yabunaka said. ''The U.S. side has
expressed its regrets and said it will strengthen measures to prevent any
recurrence, but we would like to continue efforts to make sure an appropriate
response is made.''
The entry of nuclear-powered vessels into Japanese waters is a sensitive issue
in Japan given its experience of U.S. atomic bombings in 1945 and its postwar
non-nuclear principles. In practice, the U.S. military notifies Japan of any
port calls by its nuclear submarines at least 24 hours ahead of time.
Concerns over the safety of U.S. nuclear-powered vessels have risen in Japan
recently due to a fire in May on the aircraft carrier George Washington, newly
deployed in Yokosuka, caused by unauthorized smoking by crew members, and the
leakage of radioactive water from the submarine Houston during past port calls
in Japan.
Monday's incident was the first unannounced call by a U.S. nuclear sub since
Japan and the United States confirmed the prior notification system in writing
in 2001 that the United States will inform Japan at least 24 hours in advance
of where and when its nuclear subs plan to stop in Japanese ports.
The 2001 agreement was made after the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Chicago
called at Sasebo in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, in April that year
without prior notice, the first time since such U.S. nuclear sub visits began
in November 1964.
