ID :
69576
Thu, 07/09/2009 - 20:34
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/69576
The shortlink copeid
Defense chief suggests deploying ground troops on westernmost island
+
NAHA, Japan, July 8 Kyodo -
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada indicated Wednesday that he will consider
deploying Ground Self-Defense Force troops on the country's westernmost island
of Yonaguni, near Taiwan.
''We will consider how we should defend the Nansei Islands, including Yonaguni
Island,'' Hamada told a news conference in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, during his
first visit to the southwestern island prefecture as defense minister.
As reasons for considering the deployment, Hamada said it is important to show
to Japan's neighbors its stance on defending outer islands. ''It is also worth
considering from the standpoint of anti-disaster management,'' he added.
The possible deployment of ground troops on Yonaguni, a small island in the
East China Sea located just 110 kilometers from Taiwan's eastern coast, could
unnerve China and Taiwan.
That is partly because it is located roughly 150 km south of a set of
Japanese-administered islets whose ownership is disputed by China, Japan and
Taiwan. Japan considers the Senkaku Islands -- also called Diaoyutai in China
and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan -- part of the Nansei Islands.
On the proposed relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in
Ginowan to the shores of the Marine's Camp Schwab in Nago, both on Okinawa's
main island, Hamada said the project will proceed as agreed between Japan and
the United States.
The minister indicated, however, that there may be some room for a compromise
over the exact location of the runways to be built on the shores.
''We'll do our best within the scope we are provided with,'' Hamada said.
''We'll continue to discuss this.''
The prefectural government has asked that the V-shaped runways be built further
offshore, citing concerns about safety and noise problems that could arise in
the future.
The proposed relocation is part of the bilateral accord on the realignment of
the U.S. military presence in Japan and is supposed to be completed by 2014.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hamada flew to Yonaguni for a short visit.
When Yonaguni Mayor Shukichi Hokama asked him to station GSDF troops on the
island, Hamada said, ''The fact that I've come here is the answer,'' according
to a person involved in the visit.
==Kyodo
2009-07-08 22:50:52
NAHA, Japan, July 8 Kyodo -
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada indicated Wednesday that he will consider
deploying Ground Self-Defense Force troops on the country's westernmost island
of Yonaguni, near Taiwan.
''We will consider how we should defend the Nansei Islands, including Yonaguni
Island,'' Hamada told a news conference in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, during his
first visit to the southwestern island prefecture as defense minister.
As reasons for considering the deployment, Hamada said it is important to show
to Japan's neighbors its stance on defending outer islands. ''It is also worth
considering from the standpoint of anti-disaster management,'' he added.
The possible deployment of ground troops on Yonaguni, a small island in the
East China Sea located just 110 kilometers from Taiwan's eastern coast, could
unnerve China and Taiwan.
That is partly because it is located roughly 150 km south of a set of
Japanese-administered islets whose ownership is disputed by China, Japan and
Taiwan. Japan considers the Senkaku Islands -- also called Diaoyutai in China
and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan -- part of the Nansei Islands.
On the proposed relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in
Ginowan to the shores of the Marine's Camp Schwab in Nago, both on Okinawa's
main island, Hamada said the project will proceed as agreed between Japan and
the United States.
The minister indicated, however, that there may be some room for a compromise
over the exact location of the runways to be built on the shores.
''We'll do our best within the scope we are provided with,'' Hamada said.
''We'll continue to discuss this.''
The prefectural government has asked that the V-shaped runways be built further
offshore, citing concerns about safety and noise problems that could arise in
the future.
The proposed relocation is part of the bilateral accord on the realignment of
the U.S. military presence in Japan and is supposed to be completed by 2014.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hamada flew to Yonaguni for a short visit.
When Yonaguni Mayor Shukichi Hokama asked him to station GSDF troops on the
island, Hamada said, ''The fact that I've come here is the answer,'' according
to a person involved in the visit.
==Kyodo
2009-07-08 22:50:52
