Friday's announcement by america and Japan that 9,000 U.S. Marines shall be transferred from a base at the Japanese island of Okinawa is being hailed as an enormous diplomatic accomplishment. But there also are concerns the real transfer may be fraught with numerous complications.
The revised realignment plan, agreed to by Japan and the us, is seen as both a compromise and a piece still in progress.
It requires moving nearly 1/2 the nineteen,000 U.S. Marines off Okinawa. As much as 5,000 are to be re-deployed to the Pacific island of Guam and four,000 moved to either Hawaii or rotated out and in of Australia.
No timelines were revealed.
Related story - US, Japan Reach Agreement to go 9,000 Marines
Political analyst and adjunct senior fellow Richard Baker on the East West Center in Hawaii says the agreement comes after complex negotiations involving political, technical, financial and infrastructural issues.
"And that i do not believe it was inevitable that they'd have the ability to make a gathering of the minds of that kind, in order that is the excellent news," he said. "Now the bad news is that the general public handling of this has got to be as sensitive because the negotiations were and as nuanced."
Still unresolved is what to do with a Marine air station in the midst of a congested community on Okinawa. Most analysts believe that a proposed move to a domain farther north at the island is unlikely to occur by reason of strong opposition locally. However the new airfield plan has officially not been scrapped.
Many Okinawans like to see your entire Marines permanently vacate the islands. That also is unlikely in an era when concerns about China's rise mean other Asia-Pacific nations desire a reassuring presence of U.S. military forces inside the immediate neighborhood.
The Obama administration was telling its allies that the us is making renewed and long-term military commitments to the region.
Baker, a retired veteran U.S. diplomat, acknowledges that repositioning troops from Okinawa to Guam and Hawaii might be viewed as a move within the wrong geographical direction.
"Critics would be tempted to assert that this belies the intended pivot to Asia. i feel that could be an unfair criticism given the realities of the negotiations and the realities of the very, very longstanding problem in Okinawa that that is designed to resolve," he noted.
Japan is to partially fund the $8.6 billion cost of a buildup at the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.
It would be the largest military presence at the island because the Vietnam War when U.S. Air Force B-52s made daily bombing runs from Guam.
Guam, with a population of about 180,000, already hosts greater than 7,000 military personnel, primarily assigned to Andersen Air Force Base, and a facility at the western side of the island referred to as “Big Navy.â€
"The secret thing, i believe, for many people in Guam, is solely to ensure that our infrastructure is developed as a way to handle the recent capacity," stated Senator Judi Guthertz who chairs Guam's legislative committee at the military buildup. "And that everybody has a deep respect for every other here in order that we're ready to maintain the hot identity and the original tropicalness and grace of the island. And that i think our military partners are aware about that."
Originally there have been plans to head twice the selection of Marines -- 9,000 in all, to Guam.
That will somewhat ease concerns over the pricy infrastructure upgrades.
Lawmakers and the general public in Guam still have many concerns and unanswered questions. Among them: the placement for firing ranges and a port where visiting U.S. Navy aircraft carriers will berth.
The indigenous Chamorros have objected to any range site trespassing on ancient grounds while the initial anchorage site in Apra harbor has upset environmentalists and the tourism sector because dredging would destroy or damage greater than 25 hectares of coral.
Guam Senator Guthertz supports the move of more Marines to the island but faces other questions from her constituents.
"Questions that remain are will the army be building housing to house the Marines or will they be using housing available locally? What sort of services will they want in the neighborhood from our private sector companies which are anxious and ready to provide responses to their requests for proposals? So the commercial benefits, i feel, will occur but we aren't sure in what shape or what form yet," he said.
Several powerful U.S. senators were eager about the plan's overall cost and its impact on America's regional military strategy.
The simultaneous announcement Friday in Tokyo and Washington addressed a number of their concerns.
After the joint announcement the senators (Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin and Jim Webb, both Democrats, together with former Republican presidential candidate John McCain) issued a press release saying they “still have many questions on the particular details†and its implications for force posture within the Asia-Pacific region.
From WhatNewsToday.net
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