By It will be interesting to see if the Obama administration has the wherewithal to play hardball against the Japanese or not:
The United States warned Tuesday that Japan reneging on a bilateral deal to relocate a U.S. airfield within Okinawa Prefecture could harm the alliance between the two countries.State Department spokesman Ian Kelly issued the warning at a news briefing as he talked about Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s stance of considering moving the U.S. Marines Futemma Air Station out of the prefecture as an option.
“That’s a decision for the government of Japan to make…Ultimately, it’s for the government of Japan to decide what kind of relationship that they’re going to have with us,” he said.
As part of a 2006 bilateral accord on the reconfiguration of U.S. forces in Japan that took years to reach, the Futemma airfield is to be relocated from downtown Ginowan to Nago by 2014.
“Our position on the agreements that we have for basing hasn’t changed,” Kelly said. “We think that this is the best way forward in our security relationship with Japan.”
The spokesman disputed the idea some Japanese government officials and ruling party lawmakers have expressed that the process of reaching the bilateral deal was not transparent.
The agreement with Japan “is designed to meet common challenges, common security challenges, and it’s done in complete transparency and in partnership with the government of Japan,” he said.
The United States has made it clear that Japan should come to a decision on where the Futemma base should be relocated in time for President Barack Obama’s Nov. 12-13 trip to Tokyo — and in line with the existing bilateral deal.
But Hatoyama has said repeatedly that Tokyo will take time to consider the matter, adding he does not believe Japan has to reach a decision by the time he meets Obama. [Breitbart]
The new government in Japan is looking more and more like the prior Roh Moo-hyun government in South Korea who tried to stop the USFK relocation plan there a few years ago. There is plenty of things you can say about the prior Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, but he did find a way to get what he wanted from the South Koreans. The Korean government has never wanted the USFK relocation to happen for a variety of reasons and the only reason it has gotten as far as it has was because of Rumsfeld’s threat to withdraw USFK, which was made quite clear with the redeployment of 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division from the Korean peninsula along with a host of other troop cuts. A few days after Rumsfeld resigned from office the Korean government immediately reneged on the transformation deal and announced the first delay of the Camp Humphreys relocation to 2012. The delays have only continued since then.
So it will be interesting to see if the Obama administration is willing to take the same measures against Japan that Rumsfeld took against the South Korean government to advance the USFK relocation plan.
I think something will get worked out, but not by the time President Obama visits Japan. The Japanese government is probably playing a domestic political game by showing that they will not give in to US pressure. Ultimately something will get worked out, but the Hatoyama government will continue to make life difficult for USFJ in order to appease their leftist base, just like the Roh Moo-hyun administration.
10:43 am on November 4th, 2009 1
Saying "the Korean government has never wanted the USFK relocation to happen" is revisionism. The United States never pushed for the Yongsan transfer to happen unless the Koreans paid to make it happen. It was the Koreans who approached Secretary Cohen in 1998 about transfer of Yongsan, just as they had approached the US on previous occassions only to later renege. This was not, NOT, Rumsfeld's incarnation or push. The 2ID move was his idea, but not the HQ at Yongsan. Rumsfeld's only contribution, where Yongsan relocation was concerned, was to hold the Korean's feet to the fire and say, "if you want it we will do it, but YOU make it happen." Any rhetoric BB Bell put forth on the move was nothing more than catering to the alliance. Even he could have cared less about the move and doubted it would get financed. I contend now, just as I did a couple years ago, this move will not happen because the US simply doesn't want it enough to pay for it. It was NOT their idea and it is only worthwhile if the Koreans pony up the dough and make it worthwhile. The amount of money the US government has continued to spend on Yongsan over the years shows just how credible they have found the South Korean promise to pay for the move to be. The US has consistently assumed, outside hearing range of the media, that the Koreans would renege on the deal and have planned accordingly. The headquarters will move someday, it just won't move soon and it will move off pen, not to Humphreys, when it does finally move.
1:46 pm on November 4th, 2009 2
Very well said, informative, and I agree on much if not all of what you have said. Thank you.
5:23 pm on November 4th, 2009 3
The USFJ relocation plan has long been facing a strong opposition from the Okinawan government. Althoug the US and Japanese governments had agreed on the relocation, it would have been difficult to implement the agreed plan even by the LDP administration replaced by the Hatoyama's. Do you suggest the Japanese government should use force to build the new facilities not to break the agreement? The mainland Japanese have feelings of guilt about the ordeal the Okinawans suffered towards the closing days of WW2 and unproportional burdens they shoulder with the US bases.
Since Okinawa had long been independant from Japan until it was annexed by force in the late 19th century, it is about time they again became a self-governing state. Then Okinawa would inherit from Japan the territorial dispute with China. Japan would then be freed from the dispute with China on the islets and gas fields which are not worth fighting for. Okinawa may negotiate with the US regarding their security.
10:06 pm on November 4th, 2009 4
What force? You've never heard of eminent domain? In a democracy, if you are in the minority you get all the NIMBY projects.
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Okinawa is not an independent country as much as some of them wish to be. In a dispute with China an independent Okinawa will most likely find itself the poorest province in China.
10:51 pm on November 4th, 2009 5
The majority of Okinawans have an American base in their back yard because the USFJ bases occupy 18% of the Okinawan land. In a democracy, if you are in the majority you get no project you take objection to. Without the USFJ bases, Okinawa will be a major pleasure resort in the North East Asia with visitors from China, Taiwan and Japan, which enables them to be economically independant from Japan. An independant Okinawa will be far richer and self-reliant than present Okinawa dedendent on pork barrels from Tokyo.
10:19 am on November 5th, 2009 6
Without USFJ bases Okinawa would be a backwater third tier resort with nothing special over much better developed resorts in the region. You don't seem to buy into democracy much do you?
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Self reliant Okinawa? Bwahahaha, ….. Independent O with no Japanese support, and no US base money and you have a fishing villiage, quaint, nice people, and no reason for anyone to go there.