Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Military Space News .




SUPERPOWERS
Tokyo submits US base relocation plan to Okinawa
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) March 22, 2013


Japan seeks summit with Chinese leaders: minister
Tokyo (AFP) March 24, 2013 - Japan will seek a bilateral summit between its prime minister and China's new leaders as early as May as part of efforts to defuse an ongoing diplomatic row, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday.

Kishida, speaking on public broadcaster NHK, said the meeting may be possible on the sidelines of the annual trilateral summit with China and South Korea, which usually takes place in May.

"As for a Japan-China summit meeting, we recognise the importance of communication between national leaders," Kishida said.

"We have a three-way meeting with China and South Korea at around May every year... We will seek an opportunity of dialogue at such occasions," he said.

But Kishida admitted the details of this year's trilateral summit, which is to be hosted by South Korea, have yet to be finalised.

Japan's hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has had no summit meetings with Chinese leaders since he took power in December amid a diplomatic row over disputed islands in the East China Sea -- called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

A report said Friday that Abe will send his Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso to China next month in what would be the first high-level meeting of the Asian powers' new governments.

Japan's Sankei Shimbun daily said Aso planned to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, both of whom were confirmed in the top posts after a once-in-a-decade power transition this month.

Abe has used a tough rhetoric over the spat with China.

Beijing has repeatedly sent ships and aircraft near the islands and both sides have scrambled fighter jets, though there have been no clashes.

However, Abe has also offered peace overtures to China, repeatedly saying the Japan-China relationship was among Tokyo's most-important ties.

Japan's central government on Friday formally asked Okinawa's governor to approve plans to build new US military facilities on the island, officials said, a vital step to ending a long-running dispute.

The move is the first in several years aimed at breaking the deadlock between Tokyo, which is bound to the US through a security treaty, and Okinawa, which resents bearing the burden of so many of the country's US bases.

Governor Hirokazu Nakaima received the request from the Japanese defence ministry asking that he give the go-ahead to plans to reclaim land off Henoko, central Okinawa, to build a runway for the US military, a spokesman said.

"Our governor will decide on whether to approve or not after looking into details of the request," the spokesman said.

Nakaima, who is authorised to approve all landfill projects on the island, is expected to make a decision in six to eight months, Japan's national broadcaster NHK reported.

But Nakaima already hinted he could reject the request, which is not backed by local people.

"I have been saying that (accepting the request) is virtually impossible and my thought has not been changed," the anti-base mayor told reporters in Okinawa.

The United States welcomed the move as a pivotal step toward "a sustainable US military presence with less impact on the Okinawan people," the Pentagon said in a statement.

"This is a key milestone that comes after many years of hard work between the United States and Japan," it said.

In 2006, Tokyo and Washington agreed to shift the controversial Futenma air base from a crowded city to the quiet area of Henoko and to cut the number of troops in Okinawa.

Locals have long complained of the noise from aircraft, the risk of accidents, and damage to the environment and want the base moved, but few in Okinawa would be happy to see it shifted within the island.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office late December, met US President Barack Obama last month and confirmed the two countries would go ahead with the planned relocation of Futenma, despite local opposition.

"My basic policy is that we should not leave the Futenma (base) as it is for a long time," Abe told reporters in Tokyo after submitting the request. "I want to do my best to reduce people's burden."

Okinawa has been a longtime source of friction between the Pacific allies as the subtropical island is home to around half of the 47,000 US troops in Japan, who are stationed under a post-World War II security treaty.

.


Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SUPERPOWERS
New US commander takes charge of Mideast forces
Washington (AFP) March 22, 2013
An Army general who oversaw the US withdrawal from Iraq assumed command in the Middle East Friday, succeeding an officer who had clashed with the White House over handling tensions with Iran. General Lloyd Austin, 59, who will oversee the pullout of US troops from Afghanistan in 2014, took the reins of the military's powerful Central Command in a ceremony in Tampa, Florida, succeeding Genera ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
Hagel seeks to reassure Poland on missile defense

Poland vows own shield as US reins in Europe missile defence

Russia dismisses US missile defence move

US move on missile defense could revive talks with Russia

SUPERPOWERS
Taiwan to aim 50 medium-range missiles at China: report

India's Nirbhay missile aborted in flight

Taiwan develops medium-range missile: report

US Newest Missile Warning Satellite Encapsulated in Launch Vehicle Payload Fairing

SUPERPOWERS
'Journalism drones' on the horizon

N. Korean leader watches 'drone' attack drill: KCNA

Friend or foe? Civilian drones stir debate

US drone strikes violate Pakistan sovereignty: UN

SUPERPOWERS
Soldiers and Families Can Suffer Negative Effects from Modern Communication Technologies

DARPA Seeks More Robust Military Wireless Networks

DoD Selects Northrop Grumman for Joint Command and Control System

Northrop Grumman Highlights Affordable Milspace Communications

SUPERPOWERS
Seven killed in Marine Corps training accident

UN staring down a barrel over arms treaty

Boeing Names Ferra Engineering a Supplier for Extended Range JDAMs

Raytheon's new precision artillery ready for low-rate initial production

SUPERPOWERS
Boeing's Aussie Vigilare goes operational

Italy says will send its marines back to India for trial

India reviews Italian envoy's immunity

Tough talks in final push for arms treaty

SUPERPOWERS
Tokyo submits US base relocation plan to Okinawa

China's glamorous first lady steals the spotlight

China leader says Russia trip 'far exceeds expectations'

US, Japan review worst-case plans for island dispute

SUPERPOWERS
Smallest Vibration Sensor in the Quantum World

New technique could improve optical devices

Silver nanoparticles may adversely affect environment

Scientists delve deeper into carbon nanotubes




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement