May 30 08:17 PM US/EasternWASHINGTON, May 30 (AP) - (Kyodo) — U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed confidence Friday the planned relocation of Marines to Guam from Japan's Okinawa Prefecture will be completed by 2014 as set by Washington and Tokyo.
"We're still planning on having the project completed by 2014," he said after a tour of the U.S. Pacific territory, according to the transcript of his remarks.
Photo: U.S. Secretary of Defense Gates (Right) inspects Guam by helicopterGates made the remark in response to a question on concerns in the United States that the planned relocation could be delayed due to the new host's infrastructure and both governments' fiscal burdens.
The plan to move 8,000 Marines to Guam is part of an agreement struck between the United States and Japan in May 2006 to realign the U.S. military presence in Japan by 2014.
Any delay in relocating the Marines to Guam could affect another key element of the agreement -- relocating the U.S. Marine Corps Futemma Air Station's heliport functions from downtown Ginowan to Nago, both in Okinawa.
Gates was sanguine about the future course of the relocation, though he acknowledged there are some potential obstacles including funding and how the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan will unfold.
"There are a lot of pieces of this jigsaw puzzle that have to fit together at the same time," he said. "And I'm confident that we'll get it done in a timely way."
Gates visited Guam as part of his tour of the Asia-Pacific region. During his stay in Guam, he assured local officials the Defense Department will be "sensitive to the needs of the people of Guam" as the Marines are transferred from Okinawa.
After the inspection of Guam, he moved to Singapore for an international security conference. He is also due to travel to Thailand and South Korea.
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