US says needs base to defend Japan

US eyes Indonesia trade surge but presses reform
Washington (AFP) March 17, 2010 - The United States sees vast potential to expand trade with Indonesia but Jakarta needs to undertake economic reforms, a top official said Wednesday ahead of President Barack Obama's visit. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said that the administration saw major opportunities in the energy sector as Indonesia seeks to meet a sharp rise in demand while curbing carbon emissions blamed for global warming. "Indonesia is going to be a vast, steady market for green technologies. Ensuring that American companies play a lead role in this energy transformation is a priority for President Obama and his entire administration," Locke said.

Warning that China and other nations were also eyeing the market, Locke said he would lead a delegation of 10 to 15 US green technology firms to Indonesia in May to follow up on Obama's trip next week. But Locke, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that Indonesia needed to reform its economy, noting that smaller nations in Southeast Asia such as Singapore traded more with the United States. "Economic nationalism, regulatory uncertainty, unresolved investment disputes and lack of transparency give pause to American companies seeking to do business in Indonesia," Locke said. "If Indonesia is looking for a partner to address these issues, the United States is eager to lend assistance," he said. Locke, without giving details, said Obama would sign a "comprehensive partnership" with Indonesia on expanding cooperation on trade, education and other areas. Obama will also visit Australia and Guam.

Despite being the fourth most populous nation, Indonesia is the 28th largest trading partner with the United States. The nations conducted 21.4 billion dollars in trade in 2008, according to the US Trade Representative's office. But Indonesia anticipates a 56 percent rise in investment in energy in only four years, Locke said. Indonesia has taken some of the developing world's most aggressive measures to fight global warming. The archipelago is the third largest carbon emitter after China and the United States, due largely to destruction of its forests.

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) March 17, 2010
The United States said Wednesday that it needed to maintain a base on the Japanese island of Okinawa to defend the region, as the new government in Tokyo considers scrapping a previous plan.

Senior US officials told Congress that while they respected the decisions of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's six-month-old government, they hoped to go ahead with a plan to move the Futenma air base within Okinawa.

Michael Schiffer, a senior Pentagon official, told a congressional panel that troops in Okinawa were the only ground forces "between Hawaii and India" which the United States could quickly deploy.

"Futenma may be but one base and one part of a larger alliance relationship, but peace and stability in the region depend in no small part on the enduring presence of forward deployed US forces in Japan," said Schiffer, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia.

"The United States cannot meet its treaty obligations to defend Japan, cannot respond to humanitarian crises or natural disasters, cannot meet its commitments for regional peace and stability without forward deployed ground forces in Japan," he said.

He said the Futenma move was a "lynchpin" of a 2006 deal under which more than 8,000 US troops would leave Okinawa for the US territory of Guam.

Under the agreement, Futenma would move from the crowded urban hub of Ginowan to a quiet village. Schiffer said the deal was the best solution to ease the burden on Okinawa while defending the region.

But some of Hatoyama's left-leaning allies want the base moved entirely out of Japan, blaming the troops for noise and crime.

Despite US President Barack Obama's support for the 2006 deal, several lawmakers from his Democratic Party have voiced sympathy for Okinawans' grievances.

Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, who heads the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Asia, pointed out that Okinawa accounts for one percent of Japan's land but two-thirds of US bases.

"The Okinawans feel like they're always being the whipping boy for the last 50 years. We just put our military people there and don't have to worry about it," Faleomavaega said.

An independent kingdom until the 19th century, Okinawa was under US administration from 1945 until 1972.

The United States stripped Japan of its right to a military after World War II and now stations some 47,000 troops in the country under a security treaty.

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