CRS On Okinawa

A new Congressional Research Service report lays out a number of issues with the U.S. military's plans to decrease its numbers of personnel in Okinawa.

"Although the U.S.-Japan alliance is often labeled as 'the cornerstone' of security in the Asia Pacific region, local concerns about the U.S. military presence on the Japanese island of Okinawa have challenged the management of the alliance for decades," the Aug. 14 report -- originally obtained by Secrecy News -- notes, adding:

The Japanese archipelago serves as the most significant forward-operating platform for the U.S. military in the region; approximately 53,000 military personnel (39,000 onshore and 14,000 afloat in nearby waters), 43,000 dependents, and 5,000 Department of Defense civilian employees live in Japan. With the United States pledging to rebalance its defense posture towards Asia, the uncertainty surrounding the medium and long-term presence of American forces on Okinawa remains a critical concern for national security decision-makers.

In May, the chief of naval operations laid out the Navy's plan to increase its force presence in the Asia Pacific region over the next several years, noting that the service will increase the average number of ships in the area from 58 next year to 67 in 2020. But ships weren't the only assets that would be moved to the region, Inside the Navy reported that month:

In aviation, the Navy has already deployed its P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft to the region, where it has made a "huge contribution" to the search for the lost Malaysian airliner, Greenert said. The service also plans to deploy its EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft this decade to the Western Pacific, he added. Finally, the Navy will deploy 17 MQ-4C Triton maritime unmanned aerial systems to Okinawa, Japan, Greenert said.

The recent CRS report also notes the opposition by Okinawans of a joint U.S.-Japanese plan to move Marines out of that service's base at Futenma to a new location:

Most Okinawans oppose the construction of a new U.S. base for a mix of political, environmental, and quality-of-life reasons. Okinawan anti-base civic groups may take extreme measures to prevent construction of the facility at Henoko. Any heavy-handed actions by Tokyo or Washington could lead to stridently anti-base politicians making gains in Okinawa, particularly in the gubernatorial election scheduled for November 2014. Meanwhile, the Futenma base remains in operation, raising fears that an accident might further inflame Okinawan opposition.

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee have had problems with the Marine Corps' plans to realign itself to the Asia Pacific, specifically as they pertain to Okinawa. As ITN reported in June:

The committee claimed the Marine Corps' $12.1 billion estimate to realign the service in the Asia Pacific as "conservative and programmatic" and the estimate does not include potential costs for strategic lift or for the relocation of Marines to Australia. Therefore, Senate authorizers are withholding funds for construction activities to implement the realignment of the Marine Corps from Okinawa, Japan.

Senate authorizers are requesting "high-confidence estimates of construction costs and schedules" before initiating construction of new facilities in support of the realignment.