Japan presents draft base relocation plan for 1st time to U.S.+

WASHINGTON, May 11 Kyodo -
The Japanese government presented to the United States its draft on the
relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station for the first time
Tuesday during preparatory talks in Washington, diplomatic sources said.
U.S. officials were briefed on details of the draft, which specifies the Henoko
district in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, as a relocation site in line with an
existing deal signed by the two countries in 2006, though with moderate changes
to the plan, the sources said.
The defense and foreign ministry officials from the two countries are expected
to formally exchange their views during working-level talks at the U.S.
Department of Defense on Wednesday.
With the U.S. government already expressing reservations about making major
revisions to the existing deal, the talks ahead are expected to be an uphill
battle for Japan and the United States to reach a compromise.
In the draft, the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama proposes building
a replacement facility by creating a pile-supported runway in shallow waters
off the coast of Nago instead of reclaiming the sea nearby, as previously
agreed.
But the U.S. side has been opposed to the idea, citing the risk of coming under
terrorist attack from beneath the runway.
On the Japanese suggestion to transfer some of the base functions at Futemma to
Tokunoshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, the U.S. officials are likely to
reject the idea on the basis that the Marines' ground troops and helicopter
unit should be operated together, the sources said.
But the U.S. side may be open to discussing Japan's proposal to transfer part
of the drills at Futemma outside Okinawa Prefecture, they added.
The Japanese government has given up on meeting the May 31 deadline imposed by
Hatoyama to settle the U.S. base issue, which has strained bilateral relations,
amid strong local opposition to maintaining the U.S. troops in Okinawa.
==Kyodo
2010-05-12 22:54:49


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