U.S. to relocate Okinawa Marines to other parts from 2008

The United States plans to relocate 2,600 Marines in Okinawa to other parts of Japan starting in 2008, U.S. and Japanese sources said Monday.

Until 2008, the 3rd Marine Division will reduce the number of troops in Okinawa by sending 2,190 of them to South Korea, the Philippines and other parts of Asia for training and other purposes, the sources said.

The two-step approach to effectively reduce the approximately 17,700 Marines in Okinawa by 4,790, or 27 percent, is part of U.S. efforts to lighten the burden on Okinawa of hosting the bulk of U.S. forces in Japan as sought by Japanese authorities and local residents.

In return, the United States has asked Japan to buy and offer a high-speed vessel of at least 55 kilometers per hour for use in transporting Marine Corps units, to improve U.S. military access to ports and airports, and to build various community facilities for U.S. military personnel and their families, the sources said.

U.S. officials have suggested to Japan moving some of the Marines in Okinawa to Camp Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture and Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture, but local governments have opposed the reported ideas.

The Japanese government has tried to calm local criticism by saying Washington has made no specific proposal about its forces in Japan, despite the U.S. Defense Department's ongoing global military realignment.

According to the sources, the 2,190 Marines to be sent abroad from Okinawa will include a 1,000-strong battalion to conduct regular drills in South Korea and 1,190 Marines to be deployed for long-term assignments in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian locations.

The battalion will use a new training base in northern South Korea being drawn up to fill the vacuum after the planned withdrawal of 12,500 of the 37,000 U.S. forces in South Korea.

These troops will continue to belong to the 3rd Marine Division. The effectiveness of the first phase is uncertain as the U.S. military has reportedly already deployed thousands of Marines from Okinawa to Iraq and other places.

The second phase, to start in 2008, will involve 800 artillery troops of the 12th Marine Regiment, 900 infantry soldiers of the 4th Marine Regiment, 700 members of transportation and supply units, and 200 support troops, the sources said.

As a result, artillery drills will be removed completely from Okinawa. Washington has suggested conducting such drills at Ground Self-Defense Force training sites throughout Japan.

The plan does not include the U.S. suggestion of pulling out part of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force from Japan starting in 2008, which was proposed in earlier bilateral talks with Japan, the sources said.

Source: Kyodo News