U.S. forces' Pacific commander says Marines to relocate to Guam on time

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TOKYO, Feb. 19 Kyodo -
The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific said Thursday he believes that the
relocation of about 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam will happen on
time, after saying last November it would not be done by the 2014 deadline.
''What I said was there is a possibility of delay,'' Adm. Timothy Keating, who
heads the Pacific Command, told reporters in Tokyo. ''Our Secretary Clinton and
your foreign minister have just committed Japan and the United States to
executing the program on time, and we believe that's what will happen.''
The admiral spoke with reporters after he paid a courtesy call on Japanese
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, just days after Japan and the United States
confirmed their commitment to following through on a 2006 agreement on the
reorganization of U.S. forces in Japan.
Referring to the relocation of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam -- the focal
point of the realignment -- during a news conference last November in New York,
Keating said the Guam transfer will ''take a little bit longer to effect. We
won't be done by 2014, or maybe even 2015.''
Keating then cast doubt on the projection in the agreement that an estimated
$10.27 billion would be needed for the relocation of Marines to the U.S.
territory in the Pacific.
''It will cost us a little bit more money than we currently have budgeted,''
the admiral said at the time, citing ''not insignificant budgetary challenges
coming ahead of us.''
On Thursday, Keating said little about the cost issue except that the two
countries are ''in expensive propositions'' but that their leaders remain
committed to the agreement.
Asked if he believes the money budgeted would be enough to complete the
relocation, Keating said, ''That's for the financial folks to address. We are
committed to executing the DPRI as is written.''
The plan outlining the reorganization of U.S. forces in Japan is called the
Defense Policy Review Initiative.
On Tuesday, Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone and U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton signed an accord in Tokyo that would legally bind Japan
to spend up to $2.8 billion from its coffers on Guam relocation projects.
Under the realignment road map agreed on between the two countries, Japan will
provide $6.09 billion for the Guam relocation.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said in a report submitted to
Congress last September that the cost could swell to over $15 billion.
==Kyodo
2009-02-19 22:32:15