JAPAN: The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell says plans will move forward to build a U.S. air base in Okinawa

Record ID: 187094

  • Title: JAPAN: The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell says plans will move forward to build a U.S. air base in Okinawa
  • Date: 23rd May 2011
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MAY 22, 2011) (REUTERS) U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, KURT CAMPBELL, GIVING A NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, KURT CAMPBELL, SAYING "We made very clear both of our intentions, the U.S. and the Japanese government, to proceed ahead with the current plans, both the 2006 joint declaration, the overall FRF plan and the May 28th joint statement." PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PICTURES (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, KURT CAMPBELL, SAYING "The maintenance of peace and stability in the Korean peninsula, our dual efforts to engage China, and to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan straits, our joint efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and dealing directly with the challenges of modern day piracy. These are all the things which demand close coordination between the United States and Japan, and frankly, the United States depends on Japan's active engagement." CAMPBELL WALKING OUT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 7th June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVADB8HGNQWRNOU8H8RCQKB0JKTL
  • Story Text: The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell, visited Japan on Sunday (May 22) to discuss the status of a U.S. airbase in Okinawa.
    Earlier this month, a group of U.S. senators suggested that plans to move Futenma air base in the southern island of Okinawa be delayed to allow Japan to focus on rebuilding after the March 11th earthquake.
    However, Campbell re-iterated the importance of upholding the U.S. and Japanese agreement to move the U.S. base to Futenma.
    "We made very clear of both of our intentions that the U.S. and the Japanese government to proceed ahead with the current plans, both the 2006 joint declaration, the overall FRF plan and the May 28th joint statement," Campbell told reporters.
    The location of the U.S. airbase on Okinawa has drawn criticism from local residents who say the base is too noisy.
    A dispute over a replacement facility for Futenma air base on Japan's southern island of Okinawa, a key part of realignment of U.S. troops in Japan, has strained Japanese-U.S. relations.
    The U.S. wants to push ahead with the 2006 deal to move it from the crowded city of Ginowan in central Okinawa to a remoter site by 2014 as a prerequisite to moving 8,000 marines off the island to the U.S. territory of Guam.
    The Marine base row in Okinawa coincides with deepening questions about how China's rising military and economic clout will reshape security ties.
    Many residents of Okinawa, a subtropical island about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) south of Tokyo that hosts about half the 47,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan, have long resented what they see as an unfair burden for maintaining the security alliance.
    In the meantime, Campbell also said that the United States and the rest of the world is currently faced with enormous security challenges, and although Japan has its own issues with rebuilding and radiation crisis at present, the U.S. seeks Japan's active engagement in maintaining world stability.
    "The maintenance of peace and stability in the Korean peninsula, our dual efforts to engage China, and to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan straits, our joint efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and dealing directly with the challenges of modern day piracy. These are all the things which demand close coordination between the United States and Japan, and frankly, the United States depends on Japan's active engagement," Campbell said.
    Campbell will be working to arrange a meeting between the defence and foreign ministers of Japan and the United States.
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