Posted on May 23, 2019
Okinawa waits as U.S. Marines’ move to Guam struck by delays：The Asahi Shimbun
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http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ [login to see] 06.html
Indigenous people on a tiny Pacific island that suffered through foreign rule and the ravages of war are now in a battle against the world’s most powerful military.
The Chamorro people on Tinian Island are opposing the U.S. military’s plan to use a big chunk of the island for live-fire drills, saying the training could destroy their sacred land and rich natural environment.
The move to set up a live-fire range on the island is part of a wider project to relocate thousands of U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam under a Japanese-U.S. agreement.
Local opposition on Tinian is also just one of several issues, including labor shortages on Guam, that have persistently delayed the relocation plan.
Tinian Island, part of the U.S. associated territories of the Northern Mariana Islands, is a five-minute ride by propeller plane from Saipan. Guam is about 200 kilometers southwest of Tinian.
About 3,000 people, including Chamorro, live on the island, a resort destination known for pristine beaches and beautiful scuba diving spots.
Japan colonized Tinian before World War II, and the island thrived on sugar cane. More than 10,000 Japanese lived there at one point.
During the war, the strategically located island became one of the bloodiest battlefields in the Pacific theater.
U.S. forces occupied the island in August 1944 and built an airfield, from which B-29 bombers took off to carry out air raids on Japan’s mainland and later dropped the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Today, the island has once again become embroiled in the two countries’ security and defense policies.
The Japanese and U.S. governments reached an agreement in 2012 regarding the 19,000 or so U.S. Marine Corps personnel stationed in Okinawa Prefecture.
Indigenous people on a tiny Pacific island that suffered through foreign rule and the ravages of war are now in a battle against the world’s most powerful military.
The Chamorro people on Tinian Island are opposing the U.S. military’s plan to use a big chunk of the island for live-fire drills, saying the training could destroy their sacred land and rich natural environment.
The move to set up a live-fire range on the island is part of a wider project to relocate thousands of U.S. Marines stationed in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam under a Japanese-U.S. agreement.
Local opposition on Tinian is also just one of several issues, including labor shortages on Guam, that have persistently delayed the relocation plan.
Tinian Island, part of the U.S. associated territories of the Northern Mariana Islands, is a five-minute ride by propeller plane from Saipan. Guam is about 200 kilometers southwest of Tinian.
About 3,000 people, including Chamorro, live on the island, a resort destination known for pristine beaches and beautiful scuba diving spots.
Japan colonized Tinian before World War II, and the island thrived on sugar cane. More than 10,000 Japanese lived there at one point.
During the war, the strategically located island became one of the bloodiest battlefields in the Pacific theater.
U.S. forces occupied the island in August 1944 and built an airfield, from which B-29 bombers took off to carry out air raids on Japan’s mainland and later dropped the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Today, the island has once again become embroiled in the two countries’ security and defense policies.
The Japanese and U.S. governments reached an agreement in 2012 regarding the 19,000 or so U.S. Marine Corps personnel stationed in Okinawa Prefecture.
Okinawa waits as U.S. Marines’ move to Guam struck by delays：The Asahi Shimbun
Posted from asahi.com
Marines
Guam
Okinawa
Saipan
Training
Posted >1 y ago
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Excellent share PO1 William "Chip" Nagel - a lot of US citizens do not know that the people in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) including Tinian Island are in fact US citizens by birth, since CNMI is a US overseas territory.
I think the delay in moving the US troops from Okinawa to Guam, is more than mere budgetary delays. There are strategic issues at work here, including potential threats from North Korea & China. Japan, I think is a bit uneasy at letting the bulk of the US presence in the Asian region in the future reside in Guam & not Japan. Although there have been protests in Okinawa and other places against US forces, many countries really want that blanket of protection that the US provides. Especially given the military buildup by China and potential nuclear threats by the rouge nation of North Korea. Time will tell when the move to Guam will actually take place!
I think the delay in moving the US troops from Okinawa to Guam, is more than mere budgetary delays. There are strategic issues at work here, including potential threats from North Korea & China. Japan, I think is a bit uneasy at letting the bulk of the US presence in the Asian region in the future reside in Guam & not Japan. Although there have been protests in Okinawa and other places against US forces, many countries really want that blanket of protection that the US provides. Especially given the military buildup by China and potential nuclear threats by the rouge nation of North Korea. Time will tell when the move to Guam will actually take place!
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