GSDF, U.S. agreed in 2015 to station amphibious unit in Okinawa
GSDF, U.S. agreed in 2015 to station amphibious unit in Okinawa
KYODO NEWS 15 hours ago
The Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Marine Corps reached a secret agreement in 2015 to station a GSDF amphibious unit in the Marines' Camp Schwab in the Henoko district of Okinawa Prefecture, Japanese and U.S. government sources said Sunday.
But the deal over a regiment of the Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade came without approval from non-uniform officials of Japan's Defense Ministry, prompting criticism from them that the GSDF acted against the principle of civilian control, according to the sources.
The plan has been suspended due to the impasse between Okinawa and the Japanese government over the planned relocation of the Marines' Air Station Futenma from a densely populated area in Ginowan to the Henoko coastal area of Nago.
The GSDF, however, has yet to give up the plan, given potential contingencies surrounding the Senkaku Islands, a group of East China Sea islets controlled by Japan but claimed by China, the sources said.
more at:
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2021/01/de70d7801060-gsdf-us-agreed-in-2015-to-station-amphibious-unit-in-okinawa.html
The Taiwan claim to the Senkaku Islands seems to be ignored here.