I hope to start outlining U.S. military build up in the Asia-Pacific region, and specifically in Japan
So far there are 4 sections: ASIA-PACIFIC REGION , JAPAN, TINIAN, and GUAM.
ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
The following is an outline of an article by Rick Rozoff at Global Research which details the buildup of the U.S. military in the Asia-Pacific region. Other sources are also included, but unless otherwise noted the data is from the Rozoff article.
Naval Fleets
-6 navel fleets and eleven aircraft carrier strike groups, making it the largest navy in the world.- all 10 of the world's Nitmitz class nuclear-powered supercarriers
- as many aircraft carriers as all other nations combined.
- 70-80 planes and 10-12 naval expeditionary strike groups, ready for deployment on these air craft carriers
Seventh Fleet based in Japan
- it is the largest of U.S. forward-deployed fleets.
- 40-60 ships
- 25-350 aircraft
-20,000-60,000 Navy and Marine Corps personal (11,000 Navy personal on the fleet and and extra 35,000 in Japan according to AEI)
- dispatched every where from Russia Kurile Islands to South China Seas to Indian Ocean
U.S. Mutual Defense Treaties with/ Bases and Missile Defense Systems in:
-Australia
-Japan
-South Korea
-Thailand (Taiwan will receive 200 Patriot anti-ballistic missiles and 8 warships that can be upgraded to fire Standard Missile-3 interceptors)
- New Zealand (no bases or missile defense systems)
Military cooperation w/Asia-Pacific Nations:
-Austraila gave permission to U.S. military to make use of all of its logistics
- New Zealand announced in April that it will remove the ban on the docking of nuclear-powered warships and subs and that joint U.S. military exercises would resume
- U.S.-India joint military exercises in Malabar since 1992 (Japan joined in in 2009)
- U.S., Australia, Britain, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore began Exercise Bersama Shield 2010 on the Malaysian peninsula
Afghanistan War Troops from:
- Australia (1,500 soldiers)
- Japan (supplied naval troops until last year)
- Mongolia
- New Zealand (200 troops)
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Mongolia
- 46 nations in total
(Rozoff article data end)
---
JAPAN
Okinawa
- Okinawan economy not dependent on U.S. bases. Bases account for less than 10% of Okinawan economy.[8]
Iwakuni Base(map)
- by 2014 59 jet fighters based in US Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Kanagawa (map) will move to Iwakuni Base, making the base twice larger, the biggest air base in Far East Asia.
- 4,000 people (1,900 military personnel and families) will also be moved from Atsugi to Iwakuni
- Citizen opposition group Peace Link, Rim Peace Iwakuni and another local group distributed 2,000 handouts passers-by in 20 minutes on May 5, 2010 (video by Yamaguchi Broadcasting Station in Japanese)
Tokunoshima (map)
- U.S. Marines asking to deploy MV-22 Osprey tilt-roter aircraft on Tokunoshima [1] which is only 200 kilometers away from Okinawa and approximately 400 kilometers form China
- at least 80% of Tokunoshima residents oppose the placement of bases on Tokunoshima (based on petition signatures) [2]
- 34 people killed 4 separate Osprey accidents (July 20, 1992-7 deaths;April 8, 2000- 19 deaths; December 11, 2000- 4 deaths [3]April 9, 2010-Afghanistan- 4 deaths[4])
- Osprey has been used in Iraq[5], Afghanistan[4] and Honduras[6]
- 5,000 rally in Kagoshima City protest the bases relocation plan on May 8, 2010. 3 Kagoshima Prefecture mayors united with the people at rally [7]
TINIAN
-Two-thirds of Tinian is currently leased by the U.S. military as part of the CNMI commonwealth negotiations. [8]
GUAM (map)
Most of the information here was found in LisaLinda Natividad's and Gwyn Kirk's article
- Guam's indigenous Chamorro people arrived on island over 4000 years ago and traded with other islands throughout Micronesia and were self-sufficient [8]
- Spain colonized Guam until 1898 Treaty of Paris when Guam and other colonies in the Pacific were arbitrarily ceded over to the U.S. and other nations, ignoring cultural and political histories of the people.
- President McKinley gave the Navy control over the island [8]
- During WWII, Japan fiercely occupied the island, giving the U.S. navy an opportunity to "reclaim" the island and occupy ancestral Chamorro lands with even more military bases, significantly harming Guam's self-sufficiency.
-After the 1950 Organic Treaty of Guam, the U.S. now refers to Guam as unincorporated territory of the U.S. with one non-voting delegate in the U.S. congress. Its citizens have no voting rights in U.S. presidential elections.
- Julian Aguan reports that the"Bravo" nuclear bomb, one of 60 nukes dropped on the people of the Marshall Islands, exploded only 1200 miles from Guam and is the equivalent of 1.6 or 1.7 Hiroshima bombs every day for 12 years. Guam received downwind exposure from the bomb [10] and have not received compensation for their suffering.
- U.S. bases occupy 1/3 of Guam (Andersen AFB and annexes, US Naval Base and its annexes)
- At present, 90% of Guam's food is imported [8]
- "Guam ranked No.1 in 2007 for recruiting success int he Army National Guard's assessment of 54 states and territories."[9]
- "Death rate for troops from Guam and other U.S. Pacific island territories is higher than any other state or territory"[9]
- Poverty rates on Guam is 25%; 38-41% qualify for food stamps[8]
- U.S. Department of Defense hopes to: relocate 8,600 Marines from Okinawa to Guam and 1000 military personnel from South Korea by 2014; provide additional live-fire training sites, expand Andersen Air Force Base, develop a Marine training base; create berthing for a nuclear aircraft carrier on U.S. Naval base; and erect a missile defense system on the island.[8]
- Japanese government under Aso Adminsitration agreed to contribute $6 billion towards construction of Henoko base and relocation of Marines to Guam[8]
-Military contractors from the U.S., Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines are lining up for a piece of the Guam military build-up prize.
- Proposed build-up raises several concerns:
- an additional 80,000 people (47% increase) will be a significant burden on infrastructure, land, and service burden.
- military will take up 2,200 acres of land, one potential site being the oldest Chamorro village of Pagat which is registered for historical preservation.
- U.S. military will detonate and remove 70 acres of coral reef to make the nuclear aircraft carrier berth in Apra Harbor(map)[8]
- Guam Citizens organize weekly radio program "Beyond the Fence" to raise awareness of military build up on Guam [11]
-I Nasion Chamoru,Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice,Tao’tao’mona Native Rights, Guahan Indigenous Collective, Fuetsan Famalao’an, and We Are Guåhan are some of many Guam based groups mobilizing against the buildup. Famoksaiyanis a California-based Guam diaspora group active in opposing build up.
- Hurao Cultural Camp teaches young children Chamorro language and culture.
[1] Kyodo News, Hatoyama eyeing deployment of MV-22 Ospreys on Tokunoshima: sources (May 1, 2010)
[2] Kyodo News, 80% of Tokunoshima residents are against hosting U.S. base (May 5, 2010)
[3] Wired, Saving the Pentagon's Killer Chopper-Plane (July 2005)
[4] CNN Wire Staff,ISAF: 4 killed in U.S. aircraft crash in Afghanistan (April 9, 2010)
[5] Rotor and Wing,Military/Utility: Osprey Heads to Iraq (April 2007)
[6] Bell Boeing ,Osprey Delivers for Honduran villagers (June 2009)
[7] Kyodo News, 5,000 rally in Kagoshima to oppose U.S. base relocation plan (May 8. 2010)
[8]LisaLinda Natividad and Gwyn Kirk, "Fortress Guam: Resistance to US Military Mega-Buildup," The Asia-Pacific Journal, 19-1-10, May 10, 2010.
[9] Blaine Harden, Washington Post, Guam's Young, Steeped in History, Line up to Enlist, U.S. Territory Pays High Cost in War Deaths (January 27, 2008)
[10] Democracy Now!, Guam Residents Organize Against US Plans for $15B Military Buildup on Pacific Island, Juan Gonzalez interviews Julian Aguan (October 9, 2009)
[11]KPRG, Public Radio for Guam, Beyond the Fence Radio Show (2010)
This post will be reposted indefinitely as updated/edited
So far there are 4 sections: ASIA-PACIFIC REGION , JAPAN, TINIAN, and GUAM.
ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
The following is an outline of an article by Rick Rozoff at Global Research which details the buildup of the U.S. military in the Asia-Pacific region. Other sources are also included, but unless otherwise noted the data is from the Rozoff article.
Naval Fleets
-6 navel fleets and eleven aircraft carrier strike groups, making it the largest navy in the world.- all 10 of the world's Nitmitz class nuclear-powered supercarriers
- as many aircraft carriers as all other nations combined.
- 70-80 planes and 10-12 naval expeditionary strike groups, ready for deployment on these air craft carriers
Seventh Fleet based in Japan
- it is the largest of U.S. forward-deployed fleets.
- 40-60 ships
- 25-350 aircraft
-20,000-60,000 Navy and Marine Corps personal (11,000 Navy personal on the fleet and and extra 35,000 in Japan according to AEI)
- dispatched every where from Russia Kurile Islands to South China Seas to Indian Ocean
U.S. Mutual Defense Treaties with/ Bases and Missile Defense Systems in:
-Australia
-Japan
-South Korea
-Thailand (Taiwan will receive 200 Patriot anti-ballistic missiles and 8 warships that can be upgraded to fire Standard Missile-3 interceptors)
- New Zealand (no bases or missile defense systems)
Military cooperation w/Asia-Pacific Nations:
-Austraila gave permission to U.S. military to make use of all of its logistics
- New Zealand announced in April that it will remove the ban on the docking of nuclear-powered warships and subs and that joint U.S. military exercises would resume
- U.S.-India joint military exercises in Malabar since 1992 (Japan joined in in 2009)
- U.S., Australia, Britain, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore began Exercise Bersama Shield 2010 on the Malaysian peninsula
Afghanistan War Troops from:
- Australia (1,500 soldiers)
- Japan (supplied naval troops until last year)
- Mongolia
- New Zealand (200 troops)
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Mongolia
- 46 nations in total
(Rozoff article data end)
---
JAPAN
Okinawa
- Okinawan economy not dependent on U.S. bases. Bases account for less than 10% of Okinawan economy.[8]
Iwakuni Base(map)
- by 2014 59 jet fighters based in US Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Kanagawa (map) will move to Iwakuni Base, making the base twice larger, the biggest air base in Far East Asia.
- 4,000 people (1,900 military personnel and families) will also be moved from Atsugi to Iwakuni
- Citizen opposition group Peace Link, Rim Peace Iwakuni and another local group distributed 2,000 handouts passers-by in 20 minutes on May 5, 2010 (video by Yamaguchi Broadcasting Station in Japanese)
Tokunoshima (map)
- U.S. Marines asking to deploy MV-22 Osprey tilt-roter aircraft on Tokunoshima [1] which is only 200 kilometers away from Okinawa and approximately 400 kilometers form China
- at least 80% of Tokunoshima residents oppose the placement of bases on Tokunoshima (based on petition signatures) [2]
- 34 people killed 4 separate Osprey accidents (July 20, 1992-7 deaths;April 8, 2000- 19 deaths; December 11, 2000- 4 deaths [3]April 9, 2010-Afghanistan- 4 deaths[4])
- Osprey has been used in Iraq[5], Afghanistan[4] and Honduras[6]
- 5,000 rally in Kagoshima City protest the bases relocation plan on May 8, 2010. 3 Kagoshima Prefecture mayors united with the people at rally [7]
TINIAN
-Two-thirds of Tinian is currently leased by the U.S. military as part of the CNMI commonwealth negotiations. [8]
GUAM (map)
Most of the information here was found in LisaLinda Natividad's and Gwyn Kirk's article
- Guam's indigenous Chamorro people arrived on island over 4000 years ago and traded with other islands throughout Micronesia and were self-sufficient [8]
- Spain colonized Guam until 1898 Treaty of Paris when Guam and other colonies in the Pacific were arbitrarily ceded over to the U.S. and other nations, ignoring cultural and political histories of the people.
- President McKinley gave the Navy control over the island [8]
- During WWII, Japan fiercely occupied the island, giving the U.S. navy an opportunity to "reclaim" the island and occupy ancestral Chamorro lands with even more military bases, significantly harming Guam's self-sufficiency.
-After the 1950 Organic Treaty of Guam, the U.S. now refers to Guam as unincorporated territory of the U.S. with one non-voting delegate in the U.S. congress. Its citizens have no voting rights in U.S. presidential elections.
- Julian Aguan reports that the"Bravo" nuclear bomb, one of 60 nukes dropped on the people of the Marshall Islands, exploded only 1200 miles from Guam and is the equivalent of 1.6 or 1.7 Hiroshima bombs every day for 12 years. Guam received downwind exposure from the bomb [10] and have not received compensation for their suffering.
- U.S. bases occupy 1/3 of Guam (Andersen AFB and annexes, US Naval Base and its annexes)
- At present, 90% of Guam's food is imported [8]
- "Guam ranked No.1 in 2007 for recruiting success int he Army National Guard's assessment of 54 states and territories."[9]
- "Death rate for troops from Guam and other U.S. Pacific island territories is higher than any other state or territory"[9]
- Poverty rates on Guam is 25%; 38-41% qualify for food stamps[8]
- U.S. Department of Defense hopes to: relocate 8,600 Marines from Okinawa to Guam and 1000 military personnel from South Korea by 2014; provide additional live-fire training sites, expand Andersen Air Force Base, develop a Marine training base; create berthing for a nuclear aircraft carrier on U.S. Naval base; and erect a missile defense system on the island.[8]
- Japanese government under Aso Adminsitration agreed to contribute $6 billion towards construction of Henoko base and relocation of Marines to Guam[8]
-Military contractors from the U.S., Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines are lining up for a piece of the Guam military build-up prize.
- Proposed build-up raises several concerns:
- an additional 80,000 people (47% increase) will be a significant burden on infrastructure, land, and service burden.
- military will take up 2,200 acres of land, one potential site being the oldest Chamorro village of Pagat which is registered for historical preservation.
- U.S. military will detonate and remove 70 acres of coral reef to make the nuclear aircraft carrier berth in Apra Harbor(map)[8]
- Guam Citizens organize weekly radio program "Beyond the Fence" to raise awareness of military build up on Guam [11]
-I Nasion Chamoru,Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice,Tao’tao’mona Native Rights, Guahan Indigenous Collective, Fuetsan Famalao’an, and We Are Guåhan are some of many Guam based groups mobilizing against the buildup. Famoksaiyanis a California-based Guam diaspora group active in opposing build up.
- Hurao Cultural Camp teaches young children Chamorro language and culture.
[1] Kyodo News, Hatoyama eyeing deployment of MV-22 Ospreys on Tokunoshima: sources (May 1, 2010)
[2] Kyodo News, 80% of Tokunoshima residents are against hosting U.S. base (May 5, 2010)
[3] Wired, Saving the Pentagon's Killer Chopper-Plane (July 2005)
[4] CNN Wire Staff,ISAF: 4 killed in U.S. aircraft crash in Afghanistan (April 9, 2010)
[5] Rotor and Wing,Military/Utility: Osprey Heads to Iraq (April 2007)
[6] Bell Boeing ,Osprey Delivers for Honduran villagers (June 2009)
[7] Kyodo News, 5,000 rally in Kagoshima to oppose U.S. base relocation plan (May 8. 2010)
[8]LisaLinda Natividad and Gwyn Kirk, "Fortress Guam: Resistance to US Military Mega-Buildup," The Asia-Pacific Journal, 19-1-10, May 10, 2010.
[9] Blaine Harden, Washington Post, Guam's Young, Steeped in History, Line up to Enlist, U.S. Territory Pays High Cost in War Deaths (January 27, 2008)
[10] Democracy Now!, Guam Residents Organize Against US Plans for $15B Military Buildup on Pacific Island, Juan Gonzalez interviews Julian Aguan (October 9, 2009)
[11]KPRG, Public Radio for Guam, Beyond the Fence Radio Show (2010)
This post will be reposted indefinitely as updated/edited
0 comments:
Post a Comment