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U.S. Marines to set up unit on Okinawa for remote island defense

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A prudent measure and shows Japan's potential enemies that the US will defend all Japanese Islands and territory alongside Japanese defense forces.

Just like the "boy scouts" it is better to be prepared.

The only ones who could object to this are those who may have been planing to take over these islands at some point in the future.

0 ( +8 / -8 )

Lets get dem boys some jet skis.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

I'm getting a real Hessian vibe here which is about as ironic on it gets.

Let's let the local Okinawans vote on such matters.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

Let's let the local Okinawans vote on such matters.

Please share with everyone here how you are going to do this? In reality, how are you going to separate the "local" ethnic Okinawan's, who are Japanese citizens, from other Japanese citizens, on Okinawa?

Or perhaps do you suggest that the local population should get a vote?

Here's another question for you. When do local municipalities, or state governments, have a right to dictate or decide national defense issues? Consulting them is one thing, however giving them a "right" to decide, one way or another is something totally different.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

U.S. Marines to set up unit on Okinawa for remote island defense

Here is one thing the MC is uniquely qualified to do, and there is no unit within the JSDF that could do it.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Really wise decision.

This move - along with the Japanese military setting up more bases on the islands - is exactly what is called for to defend democracy and freedom in such an incredibly dangerous area.

Expect the usual whining and opposition from the Japan-hating PRC supporters.

2 ( +7 / -5 )

US military has no authority from Congress,to do any offensive policies in Japan or anywhere

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

And thereby make those islands a target when they otherwise wouldn't have been.

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Please share with everyone here how you are going to do this? In reality, how are you going to separate the "local" ethnic Okinawan's, who are Japanese citizens, from other Japanese citizens, on Okinawa?

Let all Japanese citizens who reside on the islands of Okinawa vote on the matter. Of course it will never happen because around 90% of the population would vote against. Better to just ignore the citizens and call it "freedom and democracy".

-4 ( +7 / -11 )

Fightoo,US women marine are better trained than an JDSF plaroon

-12 ( +0 / -12 )

What are USA forces doing in Japan? Why are they supposed to defend Japan/Nippon? Why can't Japanese defend their country themselves? I have always been awe struck with Japanese contributions to the world. Even illiterate Indian people used to know Japan as some sort of a shining jewel in the world. Still we are having exceptional developments coming out from Japanese. Then why defence is not in their own hands? It is really apalling and upsetting.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

if hostility break out the War Power Act has to be invoke,your lack of knowledge of America is telling,

The US in the past has shown its inclination to act fast. It does not need to declare war in order to respond to hostilities. Your lack of understanding shows with your inane comments.

I am a real American,the average American do not care about Japanese survival,but their own ,lots of Foreigners live with this delusional view

You do understand that Americas position in the world is because it works hard to get the support of other democracies and to do that it gives assurances of a military nature amongst other things. The world is under no illusions that Americans want to save everyone. They do so when there is a benefit in doing so, like keeping allies onside and keeping the support of the many by helping those few who need it from time to time. They do this because sometime they US needs the help of their allies to achieve their aims. It is not a simple black and white, there are many shades of grey in between.

Americans can be hostile to other Americans because they support the opposite political party, clearly they are living with much anger, but they will support their friends, like most decent people would. If you fight at their side in conflict after conflict, watching their back, they will be inclined to return the favor (like the UK and Australia have), but there is still no guarantee of it. Fortunately formal alliances mean there is little ambiguity. Unless they want to break their alliance they will do as required by the alliance treaty terms. As far as Japan is concerned they have a long standing defence alliance with the US and the US will honor it. Unless you think America is untrustworthy?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Fightoo,US women marine are better trained than an JDSF plaroon

If the men are, why would the women be trained to a different level? Are you trying to insult women or Japanese with your comment?

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@Awa no Gaijin YEAH YEAH YEAH wasn't it you who said Japan was playing offense? The carrot comes with cake!

A Marine Littoral Regiment, or MLR, will be established within a few years as part of a realignment of the Marine Corps in the southern island prefecture,

Within a few years ?

Blah blah !

Whatever it takes to keep Japan chomping at the bit and chasing the carrot for the good ol USA.

It isn't about defending Japanese territory , it's about defending the strategic position and keeping the cash cow paying.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Ha,I would trust a squad of American women marine,they are combat tested under fire in a real war

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

The plans to set up a new unit in Okinawa could trigger a backlash from locals, however, as the island prefecture already bears the heavy burden of hosting about 70 percent of the total amount of land used exclusively for U.S. military installations in Japan.

As opposed to bearing a burden, they have the benefit of hosting the installations.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Here is one thing the MC is uniquely qualified to do, 

The US Army is building a similar capability including developing new missiles designed to sink ships. Most people do not realize the US Army has its own amphibious capability

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Same as Afghanistan.. LOL!!

The US wasn't defending Afghanistan from a foreign invasion. They were attacking them in retaliation for the 9/11 attacks. There is a huge difference. And on top of that the Japanese are not going to be attacking US forces with IEDs, their police recruits are not going to shoot US forces. The Japanese are going to be shaking American's hands one minute and shooting them in the back the next. The Japanese will be defending their homes from a mutual enemy, China, Japanese armed forces fighting alongside US forces and those of allies. It is a completely different situation.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Why isn't Japan defending Japan instead of US Marines?

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Why isn't Japan defending Japan instead of US Marines?

Huh? Did you not bother to fact-check yourself? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Self-Defense_Forces

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Of course it will never happen because around 90% of the population would vote against. 

Really now? Roughly 2/3rds of the voting electorate, those who didnt vote, and those that were for it included, were for the landfill at Camp Schwab a few years back.

You dont understand the apathy of the people on Okinawa regarding the US military, and those that support it.

I would take your bet here and you would lose big time!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Why isn't Japan defending Japan instead of US Marines?

Out of consideration of the fears of Japan's neighbors and their Constitution, Japan doesn't have an amphibious assault capability. The JGSDF and JMSDF are working to establish one but currently does not have much in the way of the specialized equipment and ships necessary for amphibious landings. To be fair quite a bit of the equipment the Marines want for their new MLR is still being developed or is in some phase of testing. Probably the thing that will take the most time for them is they want a dedicated small landing ship that looks more like a commercial ship for two reasons. One, they want something with a really shallow draft to operate in shallower water than current big amphibs can and they want to be able to blend in with merchant traffic so adversaries can't keep track of and target them easily.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Ha,I would trust a squad of American women marine,they are combat tested under fire in a real war

why even bring it up? Why would you make the comparison between American women and Japanese defense force unless you’re trying to insult one or the other, but ultimately both.

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Why isn't Japan defending Japan instead of US Marines?

The US-Japan SECURITY treaty.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

A "few years"? How is that rapid?

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Wasn't it bilaterally agreed that primary responsibility to defend Japan's outlying islands rested with JSDF and not with USFJ?

The creation of the MLR betrays the fact that the U.S. cannot rely on JSDF for the defense of Japanese territories completely and that the U.S. wants to continue to be a major player in Japan and so maintain its status as a dominant influencer there.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

The creation of the MLR betrays the fact that the U.S. cannot rely on JSDF for the defense of Japanese territories completely and that the U.S. wants to continue to be a major player in Japan and so maintain its status as a dominant influencer there.

I've been waiting for Voicesinmyheadinokinawa to pipe up! You haven't been following the latest thinking by the US Marine Corps. They are no longer going to be a second US Army. They have gotten rid of all of their tanks and most of their tube artillery (meaning their howitzers). They are replacing all of their M270 MLRS systems with lighter HIMARS systems (they fire the exact same weapons but HIMARS is truck mounted and half the weight of the tracked M270 MLRS). In place of tanks and tube artillery they are buying several different cruise missile systems that can be employed against ships. They are becoming a force for maritime combat, sinking ships and conducting surveillance in support of naval forces. A major part of that is changing how they operate, using smaller landing ships that are designed to look civilian so they can blend in with the abundant maritime traffic in the places they want to operate, like the First Island Chain in Asia, but also the Mediterranean off Turkey and Greece and the South China Sea and the South Pacific. Also the Barents. Set up with a small force of 75 or so Marines using missiles mounted to autonomous unmanned trucks, conduct surveillance, shoot anti ship missiles, and depart before the enemy can find you and counter attack. They can set up missiles quickly to set up a cross fire in a strait they expect an enemy naval force to use, or set up on one or more islands in coordination with friendly naval forces to attack an enemy naval force from land and sea. Once the action is over they load up quickly and leave. Basically cavalry tactics applied to naval warfare. Not the big beach landings of WWII.

The US has stated unequivocally that defending Japan's many small islands and specifically the Senkaku Islans is part of the US treaty obligation to Japan. Former Defense Secretary Mattis said so explicitly during a visit to Japan and more recently current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austiin reiterated this commitment to his Japanese counterpart during a videoteleconference. It is Japan's territory and ultimately Japan's responsibility but the US has made a commitment to defend Japan and this is a new way of fighting the Marines are adopting. Every one of those small Islands becomes a good place from which to engage Chinese naval forces in the event there is a war between Japan, the west and China. People talk about asymmetrical warfare, this is an example.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

The U.S. Marines aren't Army anyway !

True, but since the end of WWII they have very often been used pretty much like another Army division albeit one that has its own air power that doesn't rely on the Chair Force, not as an amphibious force that breaks the door down for the Army to follow. In both Iraq wars they were used alongside the US and British Armies and fought like a traditional mechanized army. There was nothing special in how they fought. They did one amphibious assault at the beginning of the invasion of Afghanistan, a raid conducted entirely by air, no beach landing, leaving their armor and artillery on the ships, launched from USS Peleliu across Pakistan to an dirt airstrip south of Kandahar. Marine air power replaced their artillery for close support. It worked. It was the longest distance amphibious assault in history and forced the Taliban to abandon Kandahar, but aside from that they have been mostly employed in ground combat with US Marine and US Army units taking turns fighting in the same places.

US Marines are not afraid of much, but an existential fear they have is if enough members of Congress start to view them as being no different than the Army and question why the US has two Armies. In the 1950s there were serious discussion in Congress whether or not to continue having a Marine Corps so the Marines are exquisitely sensitive to being seen as anything but a unique fighting force with capabilities no other part of the US military has. The Army can do big beach landings with Navy support. Most are not aware of their amphibious capabilities. GWOT and the proliferation of anti ship missiles that make a conventional beach landing a suicide mission has forced the Marines to do a lot of thinking about what kind of fighting force they want to be. The Navy who mans those amphibious assault ships those cruise missiles would be aimed at were fully on board with this! The raid on Afghanistan conducted entirely by air over many hundreds of kilometers is one model for the Marines. The other is this new concept of the Marine Littoral Regiment.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sequel to my post above:

In other words, should there occur an emergency between China and Japan over a territorial matter, it would never fail to become a conflict between China and the U.S. That's a very natural grasp of the situation in view of the fact that the U.S. is a dominant hegemon in this part of the Pacific. 

So, please stop telling us that this huge U.S. military presence in Japan, especially in Okinawa, is for the security and defense of the Japanese people and extorting a large sum of money from us as protection money. Fundamentally, it's for the sake of the security of the U.S.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Desert Tortoise,

If the Marines are realigning themselves as you describe, what's the use of building a replacement for Futenma in Henoko, Nago City, Okinawa? The new base in Henoko will become a white elephant all the more, won't it?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

stop telling us that this huge U.S. military presence in Japan, especially in Okinawa, is for the security and defense of the Japanese people and extorting a large sum of money from us as protection money. Fundamentally, it's for the sake of the security of the U.S.

Fundamentally the issues are inexorably linked. Protecting Japan protects the US interests in the region. It is not either or. There is symbiosis in the defense of the region and its well being. Both nations recognize this even if citizens do not.

@DT is correct in his assessment. Through necessity the US marines are modernizing their combat abilities to serve a unique function, thus extending the abilities of the US defense forces as a whole.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

 People talk about asymmetrical warfare, this is an example.

Keep in mind your replies are to comments to those who are still living in the analog word!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If the Marines are realigning themselves as you describe, what's the use of building a replacement for Futenma in Henoko, Nago City, Okinawa? The new base in Henoko will become a white elephant all the more, won't it?

One has to understand fully the mission of the MAGTF and what the Marines are uniquely capable of doing for the advanced defense of Japan

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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