A JOINT statement by the United States and Japan has been released in Washington D.C. and Tokyo, stating the two governments remain committed to the development of Guam as a strategic point in Asia and the transfer of U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam.
The statement also said the two governments have adjusted their current posture plans set forth in the Realignment Roadmap, in particular, delinking both the movement of Marines to Guam and resulting land returns south of Kadena from progress on the Futenma Replacement Facility.
Further, the two governments are also reviewing the unit composition and the number of Marines who will relocate to Guam and they will continue to be committed to achieving an end-state Marine presence remaining on Okinawa in line with the Roadmap.
In the weeks and months ahead, the two governments will be working to address a number of issues associated with these adjustments. This joint effort advances the strategic objectives of the alliance and reflects the countries’ shared vision for the maintenance of peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the joint statement.
The statement reiterated the two countries’ strong commitment to strengthening their robust security alliance, which is dedicated to the security of Japan and to the maintenance of peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We remain committed to mitigating the impact of U.S. forces on Okinawa, as well as to the construction of the Futenma Replacement Facility at the Camp Schwab Henoko-saki area and adjacent waters. We believe that the current Futenma Replacement Facility plan is the only viable way forward,” the statement read.
Both sides underscored that the development of Guam as a strategic hub, with an operational Marine Corps presence including Marines relocated from Okinawa, remains an essential part of the alliance’s Asia-Pacific Strategy.
The United States has conducted a strategic review of its defense posture in Asia in order to achieve a more geographically distributed, operationally resilient and politically sustainable force structure in the region. Japan welcomes this initiative, according to the joint statement.
Representatives from the two countries met at the State Department earlier this week to discuss changes under consideration to realign U.S. forces in Japan.
Reports from various news agencies in Japan have said 4,700 Marines will be transferred to Guam while the other 3,300 will be transferred to other Pacific locations, such as Hawaii, Australia and the Philippines on a rotational basis. The original plan was to transfer 8,000 Marines and their dependents to Guam. These numbers have yet to be validated by either government.
The transfer of the American forces had always been linked to relocating the Marine air base, but the plan has been bogged down as Tokyo faced strong opposition from Okinawans over the deal, according to The Associated Press.
In a policy shift, Washington is now prepared to pull out more than half the troops to Guam while awaiting progress on the base relocation, officials said.
"What we're looking to do is de-link the movement of forces to Guam and the Futenma replacement facility," one defense official had said earlier.
The earlier transfer to Guam was first reported in Japanese media. But U.S. defense officials and military officers could not confirm reports in Japan, saying the remaining 3,300 Marines in Japan would be redeployed to other countries in Asia.
According to Japanese media, the possible transfer of Marines to Guam may compromise Tokyo's position because Japanese government officials had used it as leverage to convince Okinawa to accept the base relocation.
