..heliport off Okinawa has put a remote isle in the sights of the U.S. military

IRABU, Okinawa Prefecture-An airstrip on the islet of Shimojijima, far southwest of Okinawa's main island, has been swept up in the United States' geopolitical strategy to transform its armed forces.

Besides the U.S. military, the maneuverings involve the Self-Defense Forces, town council intrigue, local fear of Chinese submarines and a mysterious negotiator promising money from the central government.

What is certain is that little progress is being made on construction of an offshore heliport near Henoko in Okinawa's Nago. The facility is intended to replace the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

With its 3,000-meter runway used to train commercial pilots, Shimojijima is beginning to look like an attractive alternative to Japanese and U.S. military planners. Passenger flights connecting the island with Okinawa ended about a decade ago.

A military presence, however, does not appeal to most of the island's 7,000 population, which together with neighboring Irabujima island forms the town of Irabu.

Last spring, U.S. military officials informally asked their Japanese counterparts about the possibility of using Shimojijima airport for the heliport functions now performed at Futenma.

The airport has been used on occasion as a refueling stop for U.S. military transport planes flying from Okinawa to the Philippines.

Despite opposition from the Okinawa prefectural government and Irabu municipal government, military aircraft made 35 landings at the airport last year. The U.S. military has exercised a provision in the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement that gives it the right to use certain facilities in Japan.

Residents have held protest rallies against such use, worried that it might become a regular practice.

On March 16, many Shimojijima residents were stunned when the Irabu town assembly approved a resolution asking the Self-Defense Forces to move a base to Shimojijima airport. The vote was nine in favor and eight opposed.

The resolution purported a need to ensure the island's security following the 2004 sighting of a Chinese submarine in Japanese territorial waters.

In a side issue, almost all of the town assembly members who voted for the SDF resolution were against a proposed merger with surrounding municipalities.

The town has recorded four straight years of a deficit in its municipal budget. A decrease in the number of pilots in training has meant a drop in the airplane fuel tax that the town receives.

Proponents of the resolution argued that in exchange for having an SDF base on the island, the central government could be lobbied for financial assistance. That assistance would, in turn, mean Irabu would not have to merge with its neighbors.

On March 24, a meeting was held to explain the SDF resolution to residents, who were quick to express anger at what they saw as a surprise move.

"If the SDF is based here, it will only be a matter of time before the U.S. military also comes," one resident said.

Stung by the rebukes, the Irabu assembly the following day repealed the SDF resolution by a vote of 16 in favor. A resolution for a merger with neighboring municipalities that had previously been defeated was approved.

Masaharu Fukushima, a leader of a citizens group opposed to inviting the SDF to the island, said: "It is obvious to everyone what would happen if the SDF were allowed to come to the island at this time. Everyone fears that the U.S. military is waiting in the wings."

In talks on global transformation of the U.S. military, Japanese and U.S. officials have agreed to enhance joint operational ability.

A man claiming to be a retired central government ministry bureaucrat visited Hamagawa in January and said Tokyo would give the town funds if the assembly passed a resolution inviting the SDF to set up a base there.

The plan was rejected as being unrealistic. The man later met with town assembly members opposed to the merger with neighboring municipalities, according to Hamagawa.

He also accompanied those assembly members when they lobbied the Defense Agency.

The man was quoted by sources as saying that his efforts were an attempt to break the impasse on relocating heliport functions from Futenma.

With discussions on the global transformation of the U.S. military gaining momentum, the man said now was a good time to finalize plans for a move away from Futenma.

Irabu is scheduled to merge with Hirara and three other municipalities on Miyakojima island in October to form the city of Miyakojima.

However, Hirara Mayor Akira Ishimine warns that as long as Shimojijima airport exists, there will be a possibility of it being used for military purposes.

In February, Japan and the United States agreed on a set of strategic objectives that included the peaceful resolution of issues related to the Taiwan Strait.

The strategic value of Shimojijima, located closer to Taiwan than the main Okinawa island, has still not been fully determined.

A town assembly member who pushed for the resolution explained that the idea would not die easily.

Thanks for the post.

I spent nearly a decade on The Rock. Too bad the U.S. military finds itself in this predicament.

I imagine growth around what we called MCAF during the sixties is being crowded out by population growth on all sides. They do need to move. But hard to fault the Shimojijima islanders for not wanting all those Marines on their shores. Life will change drastically, forever.

The resolution purported a need to ensure the island's security following the 2004 sighting of a Chinese submarine in Japanese territorial waters.

Back when Okinawa was a Kingdom, they paid tribute to both China and Japan. Wonder if China claims rights to some of the Ryukyu Islands. If so, the people of little Shimojijima may well change their attitude.

Yes, this region has been diisputed for quite some time. As oil and natural gas fields are found, I would expect China to be more assertive with their claims. Japan, obviously, does not want to play ball. The sub. incident wasn't helpful to the Chinese cause from a PR standpoint and from a practical military standpoint in that it alarmed and alerted the Japanese to the Chinese menace. This situation has been simmering for years and will not go away. This is an unfolding historical drama which now also involves oil, natural gas and submarines. I have been keeping an eye on this region. This "island dispute" could get very "interesting" indeed.

These are two bsic links as jump off points, but there's a boatload of data out there that is even more informative. Check it out when you get time. PING me on any Asia-Pacific/Chinese/Taiwan Straits publicly-available military info./news you dig up. We all help each other out! FREEregards

http://www.heritage.org/Research/AsiaandthePacific/wm723.cfm

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/S/Se/Senkaku_Islands.htm

"Chinese rule or terra nullius China claims that she had already ruled these islands before Japan controlled them while Japan claims that they were Quick Facts about: terra nullius
Quick Summary not found for this subjectterra nullius.

These islands were on the sea route between Okinawa Mainland and Quick Facts about: Fujian
Quick Summary not found for this subjectFujian. Chinese envoys to the Quick Facts about: Ryukyu Kingdom
Quick Summary not found for this subjectRyukyu Kingdom and, in far higher frequency, Okinawan ships passed by them.

China claims that these islands were within Quick Facts about: Ming
The imperial dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644Ming's sea-defense area and belonged to Quick Facts about: Taiwan
A government on the island of Taiwan established in 1949 by Chiang Kai-shek after the conquest of mainland China by the communists led by Mao ZedongTaiwan. The Chinese claimed that the islands were first mentioned in literature in 1372. The islands were first documented during the Quick Facts about: Ming Dynasty
The imperial dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644Ming Dynasty, by royal visitors from Ming China to the Quick Facts about: Ryukyu Kingdom
Quick Summary not found for this subjectRyukyu Kingdom at the current Quick Facts about: Okinawa prefecture
Quick Summary not found for this subjectOkinawa prefecture of Quick Facts about: Japan
A constitutional monarchy occupying the Japanese Archipelago; a world leader in electronics and automobile manufacture and ship buildingJapan. The documentation mentions, "When crossing the sea, we could see black [ocean] current underneath. The guide said, after passing this black current, they will leave the boundary of China. At this stage, we can see a series of islands that cannot be seen in the return trip." During the Quick Facts about: Qing Dynasty
The last imperial dynasty of China (from 1644 to 1912) which was overthrown by revolutionaries; during the Qing dynasty China was ruled by the ManchuQing Dynasty, when the ex-Ming Dynasty general Zheng Jing was defeated, Taiwan and its surrounding islands became under the control of the Qing. The islands were used only as a landmark for the trip to Ryukyu kingdoms. Some Chinese insist that during the Quick Facts about: Cixi
Quick Summary not found for this subjectCixi era, the islands were presented as a gift to a mandarin "for the purpose of collecting herbs on the islands," but its credibility is questioned.

Japanese scholars claims that neither China nor Okinawa had recognition of sovereignty over the uninhabited islands so that Chinese documents only prove that Kumejima, the first inhabited island the Chinese met, belonged to Okinawa. Japanese scholars show that the History of Ming, the official history book of the Ming Dynasty compiled during the Qing period, classifies Taiwan and surrounding island to "foreign countries". They also bring official Chinese records about Taiwan or Fujian that never mention these islands. Anyway, it is certain that no one effectively controlled them."

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