Satoshi Ogawa and Michiro Okamoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondents
WASHINGTON -- Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, on Thursday strongly urged the Japanese government to come up with a formal alternative proposal to the 2006 plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture.
Campbell told The Yomiuri Shimbun in an exclusive interview that the U.S. government did not consider the measures currently being studied by the Japanese government, including the partial transfer of a helicopter unit to Tokunoshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture, to be a formal proposal.
"I think Japanese friends have described them to us more as concepts and ideas, and we have provided some general reflections about those ideas," Campbell said.
"We're at a stage now that what's necessary is to move forward expeditiously," he said. "We are also prepared to take seriously serious Japanese proposals that reflect operational realities, political constraints, and we are prepared at any time to work closely with Japanese partners on such an endeavor."
Campbell said he strongly hoped the Japanese government will compile a concrete alternative plan and present it to the United States as soon as possible.
He is scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss bilateral issues including the relocation of Futenma with government and ruling Democratic Party of Japan leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Concerning the "unofficial" proposals introduced by the Japanese government, Campbell indicated that the U.S. government has already informed Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's administration that it would be quite difficult to accept them.
"We have talked about those ideas and concepts in great detail, but not in a sort of designated, formal working group...We have tried to be very clear about what some of the limitations are with regard to those ideas," Campbell said.
He avoided commenting about specific ideas and suggestions that have been discussed between the two countries.
Asked why the United States has been refusing to hold bilateral working-level meetings on an alternative plan for relocating Futenma, Campbell said it was too early to hold such talks.
"We have a desire to work on specific, well-crafted proposals and plans that take into account operational considerations and the sensitive political variables in Okinawa," he said. "That approach we think is the best way forward, rather than simply to meet to discuss ideas and concepts."
He repeated the U.S. position that the plan agreed upon in 2006 between the two countries to relocate the functions of the Futenma station in Ginowan to a coastal area of the Henoko district of Nago, also in Okinawa Prefecture, was "the best way forward."
However, when asked whether he still thought the plan was politically feasible, Campbell replied: "I don't know. At one point we certainly believed that was the case."
"We appreciate that any plan that is acceptable at the government-to-government level will require substantial effort by both governments, particularly the Japanese government, to retain the goodwill of the Okinawan people," Campbell said.
Taking into consideration the increasingly opaque situation on the Korean Peninsula, the result of such events as the recent sinking of the South Korean Navy reconnaissance ship Cheonan, he emphasized that the presence of U.S. marines in Okinawa Prefecture has become increasingly important.
(Apr. 24, 2010)
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