ID :
122318
Sat, 05/15/2010 - 23:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/122318
The shortlink copeid
Clinton to visit Japan on May 21 to discuss Futemma issue with Okada+
WASHINGTON, May 14 Kyodo -
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Japan on May 21 to discuss
the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa with
Japanese government officials including Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada,
Japan-U.S. diplomatic sources said Friday.
It will be her second trip to Japan as state secretary following her first
visit in February 2009. In talks with Okada and others, Clinton is also
expected to discuss the sinking of a South Korean warship in the Yellow Sea in
March, the sources said.
Although the conclusion of a South Korean probe into the sinking has yet to
come, speculation is rife that North Korea was behind the incident.
The meeting between Clinton and Okada comes after Japan presented the United
States, through recent working-level talks, with a draft proposal to build a
pile-supported runway in shallow waters off the coast of Nago in Okinawa to
relocate the heliport functions of the U.S. Marine base currently located in a
densely populated area of Ginowan in the same prefecture.
A State Department source said the two countries may agree on a broad direction
of the matter during the foreign ministerial meeting.
Washington, however, has shown reluctance to accept the draft plan, citing the
risk of a terrorist attack being launched from beneath the runway as well as
detrimental impact on the marine environment, according to sources close to the
bilateral negotiations.
The State Department source thus said that even if Japan and the United States
were to reach a general directional agreement, it would not clear the way for
the two countries to implement the relocation.
The two governments are having difficulty finding common ground, with
Washington maintaining that the relocation of the Marine base should be made in
line with a 2006 bilateral accord, and that any alternative plan must be backed
by local leaders and residents as well as win consensus within Japan's ruling
coalition.
As for the sinking of the military vessel, the South Korean government is
expected to announce its conclusion around next Thursday, which would be a day
prior to the Okada-Clinton talks.
The Japanese and U.S. foreign ministers will likely discuss how they will
cooperate in support of South Korea, based on the expected announcement of the
investigation result, the diplomatic sources said.
Clinton will make a stopover to Japan en route to China, where she is scheduled
to attend the second U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing and
visit the Shanghai Expo.
The U.S. government is also arranging her trip to South Korea after visiting
China, the sources said.
==Kyodo
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Japan on May 21 to discuss
the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa with
Japanese government officials including Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada,
Japan-U.S. diplomatic sources said Friday.
It will be her second trip to Japan as state secretary following her first
visit in February 2009. In talks with Okada and others, Clinton is also
expected to discuss the sinking of a South Korean warship in the Yellow Sea in
March, the sources said.
Although the conclusion of a South Korean probe into the sinking has yet to
come, speculation is rife that North Korea was behind the incident.
The meeting between Clinton and Okada comes after Japan presented the United
States, through recent working-level talks, with a draft proposal to build a
pile-supported runway in shallow waters off the coast of Nago in Okinawa to
relocate the heliport functions of the U.S. Marine base currently located in a
densely populated area of Ginowan in the same prefecture.
A State Department source said the two countries may agree on a broad direction
of the matter during the foreign ministerial meeting.
Washington, however, has shown reluctance to accept the draft plan, citing the
risk of a terrorist attack being launched from beneath the runway as well as
detrimental impact on the marine environment, according to sources close to the
bilateral negotiations.
The State Department source thus said that even if Japan and the United States
were to reach a general directional agreement, it would not clear the way for
the two countries to implement the relocation.
The two governments are having difficulty finding common ground, with
Washington maintaining that the relocation of the Marine base should be made in
line with a 2006 bilateral accord, and that any alternative plan must be backed
by local leaders and residents as well as win consensus within Japan's ruling
coalition.
As for the sinking of the military vessel, the South Korean government is
expected to announce its conclusion around next Thursday, which would be a day
prior to the Okada-Clinton talks.
The Japanese and U.S. foreign ministers will likely discuss how they will
cooperate in support of South Korea, based on the expected announcement of the
investigation result, the diplomatic sources said.
Clinton will make a stopover to Japan en route to China, where she is scheduled
to attend the second U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Beijing and
visit the Shanghai Expo.
The U.S. government is also arranging her trip to South Korea after visiting
China, the sources said.
==Kyodo
