Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia NewsSeptember 28, 2005
(Kyodo) _ The United States has rejected a proposed alternative option of building an airport within the U.S. Marines Corps' Camp Schwab to relocate the helicopter functions of the Marines' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa, sources close to ongoing bilateral talks said Wednesday.
In the senior working-level talks in Washington, the United States instead has urged Japan to consider another option of constructing an airport on reclaimed land in shallow water within the reef alongside Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Nago, the sources said.
The talks, involving senior defense and foreign affairs officials tasked with discussions on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, began the two-day talks Monday, but the two sides decided to continue the talks Wednesday.
At stake is bridging gaps over the two conflicting options to decide on an alternative option for the stalled initial plan of building a 2,500-meter offshore civilian-military airport along the reef off Camp Schwab to relocate the helicopter functions of the Futemma base in Ginowan.
The two nations have narrowed down the alternative plans to two, but differences over the two options are complicating the negotiations. The U.S. Defense Department is pressing for the plan to build an airport in the shallower water area and the Japanese Defense Agency wants to construct it within the camp.
During the ongoing talks, the United States clarified its position of rejecting the inland option, stressing that it would lead helicopters to fly over local communities -- one of the major issues for relocating the Futemma base -- and the Japanese government has not obtained support from the local authorities and residents, the sources said.
The two nations are otherwise basically in agreement over building a shorter 1,500-meter military-only airport so as to shorten the completion period to about five years from the more than 10 years required in the initial plan.
The Futemma issue is likely to affect the overall bilateral talks for crafting a comprehensive package on the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The two nations plan to compile an interim report on the realignment by the end of October.
Kyodo News via Yahoo! Asia News
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