ID :
97906
Sun, 01/03/2010 - 08:34
Auther :

FOCUS: U.S. military eyes Guam as staging post to counter threats+



HAGATNA, Guam, Jan. 2 Kyodo -
The United States plans to fortify Guam, upgrading its military base on the
island into a strategic staging post that would allow rapid access to potential
flashpoints in the Pacific region.

More troops, including 9,182 Marines, army soldiers and their dependents from
Okinawa, Japan, will be relocated to this island, while more than 9,000
transient troops, mainly from the navy's carrier strike group, will also be
based here.
The ''overarching purpose'' of beefing up Guam as a military fortress is ''to
provide mutual defense, deter aggression, and dissuade coercion in the Western
Pacific Region, according to a draft impact report recently released by the
U.S. Defense Department.
The proposed buildup would allow U.S. military forces to respond to regional
threats and contingencies in a ''flexible'' and ''timely manner'' as they work
to ''defend U.S., Japan and allied interests,'' the study says.
''Moving these forces to Guam would place them on the furthest forward element
of sovereign U.S. territory in the Pacific, thereby maximizing their freedom of
action,'' it says.
According to the report, the United States envisions Guam as a ''local command
and control structure'' manned, equipped, trained, and sustained by a modern
logistics infrastructure.
The relocation and buildup cost, including expansion of infrastructure needed
to maintain a permanent base for Marines and U.S. Army troops on Guam and
Tinian, an island 160 kilometers to the northeast, is pegged at $12 billion.
Japan has agreed to chip in $6.09 billion of the total.
The plan would entail ''increased operational activities,'' more frequent
berthing by aircraft carriers and other warships, building aviation training
ranges and upgrading of harbors, wharves and ports.
The existing Andersen Air Force Base on Guam would be expanded to include the
air elements of the Marines. A new Marine base would be built ''right next
door,'' the study says.
Various firing ranges would be built to meet the various training requirements
of a larger military contingent.
The U.S. also plans to expand its live fire training ranges in Tinian where
about 200 or more Marines could ''realistically train'' with their weapons and
equipment ''without restrictions.''
Also on the drawing board is the building of a deep-draft wharf at Guam's Apra
Harbor to support nuclear-powered aircraft carriers transiting through the
area.
A U.S. Army ''Air and Missile Defense Task Force'' is also proposed for Guam
to protect the island and U.S. forces there against the threat of harm from
ballistic missile attacks.
Weapons emplacement sites would be constructed to accommodate the ''Terminal
High Altitude Area Defense'' system, which is designed to intercept missiles
during late mid-course or final stage flight.
Other emplacement sites would accommodate Patriot missiles, which are designed
to strike threat aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise missiles just
before impact.
The U.S military is beefing up its presence in Guam after U.S. allies in the
Pacific -- the Philippines, Thailand, Australia, South Korea and Singapore --
turned down U.S. requests for permanent basing of U.S. troops on their soil.
Already concerns are being raised over plans to transform Guam into ''a
multi-service military base.''
''Some of the areas that they're planning to convert into firing ranges include
pristine limestone forested areas that will require some clearing of native
forest trees,'' Jeffrey Quitugua, a biologist, told Kyodo News.
Judith Guthertz, a senator in the Guam Legislature who chairs the military
buildup committee, is concerned over ''land condemnation or land takings.''
''That is a very emotional issue for the people of Guam because of what
happened after World War II where the federal government condemned so much land
on Guam. We don't want a repeat of that,'' she told Kyodo News in an interview.

Henry Simpson, general manager of Guam Racing Federation, said the U.S.
military aims to take his race track without even consulting him. ''They want
to run over our land,'' he said.
But Paul Shintaku, executive director of the Guam Buildup Office, in the Guam
governor's office, said public consultations are ongoing, with a series of fora
scheduled in January to enlighten the public on the plan.
Guam's government also scoffs at fears the plan will make the island prone to
attacks by U.S. enemies.
''I don't see it as painting a bigger red target on us,'' Shintaku's deputy
Nora Camacho said. ''Of course we have that red light, that red circle around
us...but there's a deterrence.''
==Kyodo
2010-01-02 21:19:43


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