U.S. military views presence in Asia as top priority despite budget cuts

Does that 'paper tiger' holding 'space superority' anymore?

China is not going to have free reign to bully all of Asia.

Build up Okinawa more.

Yankees Come Home. A major base in the south, in the middle and in the north (most expensive to the US taxpayers) in Japan is sufficient. Close the others, let the Japanese sell the property (if it can after the toxic clean-up) and see the economy grow. Does anyone understand how fast a fighter jet flies? It only takes minutes to get to NK because the defenses do not use the first half of the 20th century air or naval technology. There are so many other technological advances. This is not the day of "The Last Samurai."

China is not going to have free reign to bully all of Asia.

A belated shame that USA military presence wasn't available in Asia 60 years ago to prevent Japan's bullying of her neighbors then.

China's rust bucket technology is still dated crap.. some of their new tin can jets are still no match for today's modern jets.

noriyosan73Nov. 10, 2011 - 12:36PM JST

Does anyone understand how fast a fighter jet flies? It only takes minutes to get to NK because the defenses do not use the first half of the 20th century air or naval technology. There are so many other technological advances. This is not the day of "The Last Samurai."

The limiting factor for fighters these days is not speed - it's range. Okinawa is closest to Taiwan and South East Asia - hence the US need for bases there. Bases in other parts of Japan won't cut it if the US needs to move fast in SEA.

I think there was a kind of 'hysteria' in america after 'double defeats' (iraq and afghanistan)! Running away with high casualties after bullying the people Iraq and afghanistan for ten years is definately heart breaking and needs to be 'pampered'! China is easy be blamed......Oh by the way, the sinking of ROKS Cheonan last year, the North Koreans were never 'punished', was that another reason why America has some kind of 'hard feelings' over China?

@justaguy-Exactly what were the defeats? The Taliban is still out of power since the war started, Bin Laden is taking a watery nap, and Sadaam Hussein albeit ill advised is dead and gone. How exactly has the U.S. been defeated? Please explain.

@justaguy - Really? Hmm, I seem to think the US did the best it could, and Iraq is better off as the people are now figuring out how to run their country vice a despot who killed tens of thousands of people.

As far as bases in the Pacific, Okinawa will always be an important place. And without the US, things would be very different.

The U.S. focus of Asia is based on past experience. In the U.S. view, China's authoritarian regimes without democracy and human rights are contributing the most of world instability and power without restriction will most certainly lead to power abuse. China has rigid and repressive policies governed by ideological concepts. This is the reason behind U.S. singling out of China for containment. Chinese government lacks of political vision and their lack of deep knowledge of political democracy, and this is why today the Chinese government lacks credibility domestically, and in foreign affairs. China’s current political structure, regardless of reality, will end up working against the world’s democratic trend. This will cause the world to take a confrontational stance. The result will be that China’s current political structure will be difficult to continue, and will have to return to the road of democracy anyway.