Okinawa villagers sue Japan to stop construction of US helipads

by: Matthew Burke and Chiyomi Sumida | .

Stars and Stripes | .

published: September 27, 2016

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Citing noise concerns, residents from two Okinawan villages have filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government to end construction of U.S. military helipads in a remote northern training area.

The landing zones are being built to relocate and consolidate the U.S. military presence in the northern Okinawa jungles so that 4,000 of the Northern Training Area’s 7,542 hectares can be handed back to Japanese control in the largest land return since 1972.

Protesters have descended upon the project in an effort to force Tokyo’s hand to make greater effort in reducing U.S. troop numbers on the island.

In the suit filed last week, plaintiffs also applied for a provisional injunction to suspend construction.

Of the 33 plaintiffs, 31 come from the Takae community of Higashi Village, while the others come from the Aha communities of Kunigami Village. Both villages are near two helipads completed in 2014 and handed over to the U.S. military in January 2015, according to Japan’s Ministry of Defense.

Plaintiffs expect a verdict on the injunction within months, but expect the lawsuit to take years.

“If and when all of [helicopter landing zones] are completed, this entire community of 150 residents will become unlivable,” said Yukine Ashimine, 45, a Takae resident who added that her house shakes from the sound of the helicopters and frightens her family.http://okinawa.stripes.com/news/okinawa-villagers-sue-japan-stop-construction-us-helipads#sthash.MMqUNtXk.dpuf

US Presidential Candidates Sharply Divided on Military Alliances

SEOUL — 

U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump reiterated sharply opposing views on the issue of military support for American allies around the world, and for Japan and South Korea in particular, during their first televised debate on Monday.

Clinton, the Democratic candidate, criticized past statements made by Republican nominee Trump that indicated he might withdraw troops from Asia unless allies more fairly compensate the U.S. for protection.

“He has said repeatedly that he does not care if other nations got nuclear weapons, Japan, South Korea even Saudi Arabia,” said Clinton.

Japan scrambles jets after Chinese planes fly over Miyako Strait

By MATTHEW M. BURKE AND CHIYOMI SUMIDA | STARS AND STRIPESPublished: September 27, 2016

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Japan Air Self-Defense Force jets scrambled Sunday to intercept eight Chinese military aircraft flying between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island as Beijing flexed its muscles in the region again.

While there was no violation of Japan’s airspace, the close encounter in the Miyako Strait by four Xian H-6 bombers, a Tupolev TU-154 reconnaissance plane, a Shaanxi Y-8 reconnaissance plane and two fighter jets was a rare show of force for the Chinese, who usually test Japan’s margins with a small number of submarines, boats or aircraft.

“This is the first time that Chinese military aircraft flew over the area,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. “It is assumed that the Chinese military conducted some training; however, I will refrain from elaborating on the training, including the purpose of the flight.”

Search for crew after helicopter crashes in S. Korea

SEOUL, South Korea — A search was underway Tuesday for three crew members missing after a South Korean military helicopter crashed into the sea off the country’s east coast while participating in joint maritime drills with the U.S. Navy.

The Lynx helicopter sent out a distress signal and disappeared from radar eight minutes after taking off from an Aegis destroyer Monday evening.

So far, searchers have found only debris, including the helicopter’s door and a helmet, a South Korean military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity according to department policy.

The crash site was near the inter-Korean maritime border known as the Northern Limit Line, but the official said currents suggested any drift would have been in a different direction.

An investigation into the cause of the crash was ongoing, but weather conditions were not a problem, another official said.

Military: no hacking, just system glitch

Posted: Sep 27, 2016 4:22 PMUpdated: Sep 27, 2016 4:22 PM

By Ken Quintanilla

 

You may have heard about potential hacking of Guam's military installations over the weekend - do not be alarmed. According to public affairs officer Lieutenant Tim Gorman, while an undetermined amount of credit and debit cards did receive duplicate charges, it wasn't due to hacking, but instead, due to a system error.

"So it's not a hack, it's not identity theft," he affirmed. "It's simply a bad program or bad update. We caught the problem so we're working to fix it and get everyone their refund now."

USS Chancellorsville Arrives in Guam

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew Schneider | September 26, 2016

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APRA HARBOR, Guam (NNS) -- Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) arrived in Guam for a routine port visit Sept. 24.

While in Guam, Chancellorsville Sailors have the opportunity to experience the culture and take part in Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) events. The crew will also get the chance to interact with the local citizens through a community relations project.

China’s massive Pacific air force drill just the start of even bigger shows of might against US, experts predict

The Chinese air force’s unprecedented drills in the Western Pacific on Sunday are just the beginning, military experts say as they predict more large joint operational exercises in the region in future.

The long-range drills and patrols – that involved more than 40 aircraft from different aviation teams – were to display China’s ability to counter US interference in theSouth China Sea issues, the experts said.

Air force spokesman Shen Jinke said H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighters and air tankers conducted reconnaissance and early warning drills, simulated attacks on sea targets, and carried out in-flight refuelling.

China dispatches one of its largest air force fleets ever near Okinawa in show of force to Japan

Aircraft had “systematically” flown over Japan’s Miyako Strait, with bombers and fighters carrying out “routine” patrols in the air defence identification zone (ADIZ), which Beijing established in the East China Sea in late 2013.

Shen said “regular long-range drills in the Western Pacific and patrols over the East China Sea ADIZ were for the air force to safeguard China’s sovereignty, national security and peaceful development”.

It was the second drill in the region this month, and the sixth time the air force had flown over the so-called first island-chain blockade, a term that refers to major archipelagos along the East Asian continental coast where the United States is trying to contain China, state media reported.

The drill near Okinawa caused Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force to scramble fighter jets after discovering eight Chinese planes flying over the strait.

Senior official tells Japan not to meddle in South China Sea

Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based military expert, said the drills targeted not only Japan but also “the US-Japan military alliance”.

“The strongest opponent of the air force of the People’s Liberation Army is not Japan, but the US-Japan military alliance,” Song said, adding that Washington was Beijing’s ultimate rival.

The drill “aims to point to the US’ naval base in Guam, which is the bridgehead for Washington to contain China in the region”.

 

US, Japan Finalize New Military Cooperation Amid Tensions With China

Washington and Tokyo have signed a bilateral agreement to increase military logistics cooperation as tensions with China continue to escalate.

Tokyo made major changes to its constitution in March, however, allowing Japanese troops to operate overseas in an offensive posture for the first time since World War II.  On Monday, Washington and Tokyo signed an amended Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ASCA) that takes full advantage of Japan’s more aggressive stance. 

"The agreement we’re signing today will enable us to smoothly implement the (security) cooperation between Japan and the United States, which was expanded by the legislation," Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said, according to the Japan Times. 

Japan Scrambles Jets in Response to China’s Military Air Drills Near Okinawa

Over 40 of China’s H-6K bombers, Su-30 fighter jets and air tankers flew through Japanese islands on Sunday while heading to large-scale military drills in the Western Pacific.


Warplanes of the People's Liberation Army conducted long range drills after flying over the Miyako Strait that lies between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa, the Chinese Air Force said in a statement. The jets carried out early warning, sudden assault and aerial refueling exercises, which all aimed to check the forces’ blue-water combat capabilities, according to the Chinese military. 

As the first group of eight Chinese aircraft, ­including two fighters, flew over the Miyako strait on the Sunday morning, Japan scrambled fighter jets in response, Kyodo news agency reported citing the country’s defense ministry. The Miyako Strait sits tightly between Japan’s Okinawa and Miyako Islands, and is one of the few routes that China can use to get into the Pacific. Beijing has been using the strait since May 2015. 

Okinawan forest being carved out for U.S. military helipads

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

September 25, 2016 at 15:00 JST

HIGASHI, Okinawa Prefecture--Large patches of forest have been cleared for the controversial construction of helipads to be used by the U.S. military, in an aerial look at the progression of the project.

An aerial video and photograph taken by The Asahi Shimbun on Sept. 23 over the Northern Training Area, a U.S. Marines jungle warfare training facility, showed circles of land being cleared in the Takae area of Higashi. The Northern Training Area extends from Higashi to neighboring Kunigami village and is the largest U.S. military facility in Okinawa Prefecture.

Under the construction plan, land with a diameter of 75 meters will be cleared to build the helipads, which will have diameters of 45 meters.

Government, Okinawa remain apart over U.S. air base issue

NAHA (Jiji Press) — Defense Minister Tomomi Inada and Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga held their first meeting on Saturday, and they failed to narrow differences over a planned U.S. military base in the prefecture.

During the 40-minute meeting in the prefectural government office in Naha, Onaga requested in writing that the central government abandon the plan to build a facility in the Henoko coastal area of Nago that will take over the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air base in Ginowan, another Okinawa city.

Inada, who took office last month, said the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is committed to the base relocation plan.

Onaga noted that the prefectural government has appealed a recent high court ruling against his revocation of his predecessor’s permission for land reclamation in Henoko.

7,000 servicemembers make landfall

As the Valiant Shield 2016 military training exercises came to a close, businesses have opened their doors to the approximately 7,000 sailors and Marines who have been granted shore leave.

According to a press release from the U.S. Naval Base Guam public affairs office, elements of the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group arrived in Apra Harbor on Saturday for a goodwill port visit following the conclusion of Valiant Shield. The release stated that an additional six ships from the strike group pulled into port and unloaded approximately 7,000 sailors.

Okinawa appeals high court ruling supporting U.S. base transfer plan

TOKYO —

The Okinawa prefectural government on Friday appealed a recent high-court ruling that backed the central government’s move to transfer a key U.S. air base within the southern island prefecture under a plan strongly opposed by local residents.

“The ruling that excessively takes the side of the central government…will leave a serious problem to the future,” Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga said in a statement, referring to the first judicial judgment in the intensifying dispute with Tokyo over a plan to move the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from a crowded residential area in Ginowan to the less-populated Henoko coastal area of Nago.

Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, meanwhile, made her first visit to Okinawa since assuming that post in early August and expressed regret to local municipalities over a U.S. military aircraft crash off Okinawa a day before, which she said had stirred “great concerns” among the citizens there.

Okinawa governor demands Harriers be grounded pending crash probe

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Okinawa’s governor demanded Friday that Marine officials ground all Harrier jets pending an investigation into a Marines’ AV-8B crash into the sea east of the island.

The plane was on a routine training flight when it went down, U.S. military officials said. The pilot ejected safely and was rescued. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

“Although damage to the Okinawa residents has not been reported, it is extremely regrettable, as one aircraft-related accident could result in a serious accident involving human lives and property,” Gov. Takeshi Onaga said in a statement addressed to III Marine Expeditionary Forces commander Lt. Gen. Lawrence Nicholson. 

Okinawa gov't appeals high-court ruling backing US base relocation plans

Source:Xinhua Published: 2016/9/23 14:28:47

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The Okinawa prefectural government on Friday lodged an appeal to a ruling made by the Naha branch of the Fukuoka High Court supporting the central government's controversial moves to relocate a US base within Japan's southernmost prefecture.

Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga was initially shot down by the high-court ruling made on Sept. 16, which found that Onaga's revocation of a landfill permit last October previously granted by his predecessor was "illegal."

The governor is a staunch advocate of blocking the central government's plans to relocate the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the crowded residential area of Ginowan to the less populated coastal area of Nago in Henoko, also on the island.

Air Forces Investigates Death of Airman on Guam

Military.com | Sep 23, 2016 | by Oriana Pawlyk

An airman was found unresponsive Friday at San Luis Beach, Guam, and later pronounced dead at Naval Hospital Guam, according to an Air Force release.

The active-duty airman, unidentified pending next-of-kin notification, was temporarily assigned to Andersen Air Force Base, the release said. San Luis Beach is located on the U.S. naval station on the island.

The Air Force said the airman's death is under investigation.

Thousands to arrive as Valiant Shield closes

[Lock your doors!]  About 6,500 military service members are expected on island for shore leave as several U.S. Navy ships make their way to port following the Valiant Shield 2016 exercises.

The biennial event concluded yesterday, marking an end to two weeks of collaborative exercises between U.S. military forces. One scenario highlighted by military officials was the live-fire sink exercise, in which sailors, airmen and Marines sank the decommissioned USS Rentz about 220 nautical miles northeast of Guam.

NoKor military threatens to use nuclear weapons against Seoul, Guam US base

The North Korean military has threatened to use their nuclear weapons against the South Korean capital of Seoul and a US military base located at the Pacific island of Guam, media reported Friday.

On Wednesday, the US Pacific Command (PACOM) reported that a US B-1B strategic bomber flew from the military base located in Guam and landed at the Osan airbase in South Korea for the first time since 1996.

The US military reported that the move aimed to show the US’ readiness to “defend and to preserve the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region”.

NKorea offered close look at deadly US bomber

World Bulletin / News Desk

A nuclear-capable American B-1B bomber flew closer to North Korea than ever before this week, according to the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) on Thursday.

An online USPACOM post described Wednesday’s flight close to the inter-Korean border as “just the first of many steps that forces of the United States and [South Korea] are taking to bolster the ironclad alliance between our nations.”

U.S. Forces Korea already announced that one of its B-1B bombers stationed in Guam would be based for the time being in the South -- where nearly 30,000 American troops are also deployed.

Inada seeks support from Okinawa governor over U.S. base relocation

NAHA, OKINAWA PREF. – Defense Minister Tomomi Inada on Saturday sought support from Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga over a plan to relocate a U.S. air base within the island prefecture, even as the dispute between Tokyo and Okinawa over the issue is set to be contested in the Supreme Court.

“Moving the base to the Henoko area is the policy of Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe’s government,” Inada told Onaga in the prefectural capital Naha, referring to the site where the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is scheduled to be relocated despite intense opposition from Onaga and many locals.