August 14, 2010
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A US defense expert says the United States may ask countries hosting US bases to help pay for a greater share of the cost of maintaining US troops.
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff advisor, Maren Leed, spoke with NHK on Saturday. Her comments follow US Defense Secretary Robert Gates' announcement of moves to streamline the US Defense Department.
In his announcement, Gates said the Joint Forces Command will be closed over the next 6 to 12 months.He had earlier instructed the military to find more than 100 billion dollars in overhead savings over the next 5 years, which will be reinvested in military hardware.
He cited threats from Iran, North Korea and other countries and called for increased budgets to reinforce naval vessels.
Leed said Gates proposed the naval reinforcement because he wants to prepare against increasing threats from China.
Referring to some views that the Japanese government may reduce the amount of its share of the cost, Leed said the US government is certain to demand additional funding from Japan and other countries that host US bases.
2010/08/14 23:57(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)
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