Squabble could delay Marines' realignment

by Sabrina Salas Matanane
KUAM News
Friday, November 16, 2007

A recent report by The Japan Times seems to indicate there could be a delay in the Marines relocation from Okinawa to Guam. At issue is a disagreement over the construction of a controversial replacement facility at Futenma. Japan Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is heading to Washington, where he will be meeting with U.S. president George W. Bush on the relocation.

The article states, in part, "The realignment agreement is stalled, and doubts on both sides are growing over when, or even if, the Futenma replacement facility will materialize."

Recently U.S. secretary of defense Robert Gates was in Japan, during which time he told reporters that it would be difficult to meet Okinawa's demands. With a deadline of 2014 for the realignment, both sides are hard pressed to come to an agreement of the construction of the new facility. This past September the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report on the DoD's plans for the realignment and even in that document it expressed the importance of the construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility.

That report stated, "If the Futenma replacement facility in Okinawa is not built, the Marine Corps' relocation to Guam may be delayed. Department of Defense officials view the success of Futenma as a key objective of the initiative that will need to be completed in order for other realignment actions to take place."

Read the article by The Japan Times by clicking here