Power shift in Asia and US-Japan Relations

-COL DR. ABDUL RUFF

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Global dictator USA and its NATO ally Japan funding generously to the NATO terror operations in Islamic world are trying to patch up their differences by relocating the military sites.  Both capitalist giants are worried that China has comfortably been performing as the sole leader of Asia and its UNSC veto power helps it in a big way to advance its regional and global interests.

Both the US and Japan recognize that the balance of power in Asia is shifting, with the rise of China and concerns over North Korea. Also on the agenda for the two leaders are reforms in Burma and Iran's nuclear program. This month, Japan agreed to write off more than $3.7bn (£2.29bn) of debt owed by Burma and to resume development aid, following a landmark visit to Tokyo by Burmese President Thein Sein. Last month, the US government said it would not impose sanctions on Japan and 10 European Union nations that have reduced their oil imports from Iran.

This meant that Japan, the second biggest importer of Iranian oil after China, may continue buying some oil from Iran without exposing its banks to penalties. Japan has cut its purchases from Iran by an estimated 15-22% in the second half of last year, and has promised to do more. Apart from meeting Obama at the White House, Noda will also attend a gala dinner hosted by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during his three-day visit.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda met US President Barack Obama in Washington to boost the alliance between the two countries. Noda also met guests, including volunteers who helped during the earthquake and tsunami crisis in Japan last year, at the Japanese ambassador's residence in Washington. This would mean an expansion of Tokyo's role in regional security and be hugely symbolic for Japan, which has been in a pacifist role since the end of World War II. "I would like to exchange views candidly on the vision of a future US-Japan alliance, I want the meeting to be fruitful so that the public can see clear results '' Noda told reporters before leaving Tokyo" he said.

The visit of Noda comes amid tension over North Korea's recent rocket launch and just days after both nations announced a new deal over US troops in Okinawa - a controversial issue between the allies. The Futenma base, near Naha city, has soured ties between the two allies.

In 1945 an estimated 100,000 Okinawan civilians die in Battle of Okinawa; Japan surrenders; US takes control of Okinawa and in 1972Okinawa reverts to Japan; US bases stay. In February 2012 the USA and Japan resurrected a controversial deal to move thousands of US Marines from the island of Okinawa.

The US presence on Okinawa Island has long been controversial. Locals on Okinawa say having the Futenma base near a city is dangerous and noisy and they want it removed from the island altogether. Occasional well-publicized instances of bad behavior and criminality by US personnel, including a 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US servicemen, have fuelled the concerns. The issue has put a strain on the US-Japan security alliance, which both countries see as critical to maintaining the balance of power in Asia as China rises.

At the beginning of talks this year, both countries said they had agreed to de-link the two issues. In the latest statement, they said they still agreed that Futenma should be relocated to Camp Schwab, in a sparsely populated area miles north of Naha, in line with the 2006 deal. This "remains the only viable solution that has been identified to date", the two governments said. The two countries would also consider setting up joint training bases.  The first permanent joint bases could be established in Guam or the nearby Northern Mariana Islands.

The USA has some 18,000 marines on Okinawa out of a total military deployment of about 50,000 in Japan. Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama promised to shift the base off the island, but he resigned in 2010 when he failed to get agreement on another location.

On 27 April 2012, the USA and Japan reached the deal to move thousands of US Marines from the island of Okinawa. Under the agreement, some 9,000 marines will be sent to ''locations outside of Japan'', a joint statement by Washington and Tokyo said.

The two sides, however, have still not reached agreement on closing the controversial Futenma airbase on Okinawa. The troops leaving Okinawa will be moved to Guam, Hawaii and other locations in the Asia Pacific region. Japan has been unable to fulfill the conditions of an agreement over Okinawa signed in 2006 under which it had to find an alternative location for the Futenma air base before US troops were redeployed.

Both nations are showing that their relationship is getting back on track. Noda and Obama are expected to discuss North Korea's failed rocket launch on 13 April and expectations that it may soon carry out a third nuclear test. They will also address Japan's interest in joining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which aims to create a free trade zone across the Pacific. At the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) talks in November last year, Obama had expressed hopes that the TPP trade deal could be finalized this year. Noda's is facing strong opposition from Japan's farmers over the TPP.

Japanese regime stressed that it would first realize the reduction of burden on people in Okinawa.

Proposed alternatives met heavy local opposition.

US military secretary Leon Panetta said the US would now work with the Japanese Self Defense Force to ''implement these decisions''.

It remains unclear when the troops will be redeployed and when the Futenma base will be moved.