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ASIA PACIFIC
Date Posted: 09-Jun-2011

Jane's Defence Weekly

Japan keeps eye on PLAN flotilla as it passes Okinawa

Kosuke Takahashi
JDW Correspondent
Tokyo

The Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that 11 Chinese naval vessels sailed through international waters

between the islands of Okinawa and Miyako on 8-9 June: the largest flotilla of Chinese warships seen passing in the area.

According to the MoD, the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships, including four frigates and three Russian built Sovremenny-class guided-missile destroyers, were observed by the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) over a two-day period. The presence of a submarine rescue ship suggests that submarines were also part of the flotilla, but this was not confirmed.

General Ryoichi Oriki, Chief of the Japan Self-Defence Force (JSDF) Joint Staff, said the JSDF would continue to monitor the PLAN's intensifying activities in waters off Japan.

On 9 June the Chinese Ministry of Defence said a PLAN fleet would conduct exercises in the west Pacific in mid-tolate June. "This will be a regular drill according to the [PLA's] annual plan," the ministry statement said.

Copyright © IHS Global Limited, 2011
ASIA PACIFIC

Date Posted: 09-Jun-2011

Jane's Defence Weekly

Marines to station Ospreys at Futenma

Kosuke Takahashi
JDW Correspondent
Tokyo

The US Department of Defense (DoD) said it plans to station the MV-22 Osprey at the controversial US Marine Corps air station at Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, from late 2012 as part of an ongoing replacement of its ageing CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter fleet.

"The Marine Corps is in the process of phasing out the CH-46 and replacing it with the MV-22," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said in a 6 June statement. "This process is beginning with units based at CONUS [continental US] air stations."

Japanese Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said on 7 June he would visit Okinawa to explain the US plan to Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima.

Okinawans have opposed the deployment of Ospreys at Futenma, which is located in a densely populated part of Ginowan City, citing concerns about safety and noise pollution of the MV-22: a tilt-rotor vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) transport aircraft. During its development the Osprey suffered a series of accidents.

Futenma is due to close in 2014 under plans agreed in 2006 by the US and Japanese governments. However, this schedule is unlikely to be realised due to continuing disagreement about the marines' new home.

"According to the current USMC Aviation Plan, the MV-22 will replace the CH-46 within III MEF [Marine Expeditionary Force] in late 2012," Lapan said. "We have recently begun discussing the mechanics of the notification process involved with introducing this important Alliance capability to Okinawa.

"In comparison to the CH-46, the MV-22 is even safer, generally quieter and considerably more capable," he said.
ASIA PACIFIC

Date Posted: 20-May-2011

Jane's Defence Weekly

Kitazawa says Okinawa relocation deadline is unrealistic

Kosuke Takahashi
JDW Correspondent
Tokyo

Additional reporting by James Hardy
Asia-Pacific Editor
London

Japanese Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said on 19 May that it will be ''physically difficult'' for Japan to comply with a 2006 agreement with the US to relocate US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Okinawa by 2014.

"The 2006 road map calls for the completion of a replacement facility for Futenma by 2014, but 2014 is on our doorstep," Kitazawa told the House of Representatives Committee on Security. "The Japanese government and Okinawa have not reached a deal," he added, in reference to strong local opposition to the relocation plan.

Okinawa's strategic location in the East China Sea has led to decades of conflict between the Japanese and US governments and residents, who have protested against noise and air pollution and crimes by US military personnel.

However, the US says that the transfer of about 8,000 Okinawa-based marines and 9,000 dependants from Okinawa to Guam will not occur unless the heliport functions of the Futenma base are moved to a coastal area off the marines' Camp Schwab in Nago City, northern Okinawa.

Kitazawa said that Guam's lack of infrastructure made this plan unrealistic. He proposed a "frank discussion" on the deadlocked plan at a "2-plus-2" security meeting between the two countries' foreign and defence ministers scheduled for late June.

Kitazawa's comments come a week after senior US senators condemned the planned relocation of the Futenma heliport to Camp Schwab. They propose integrating it into the nearby US Air Force base at Kadena: a suggestion that was rejected by the host municipality's mayor.