'저는 그들의 땅을 지키기 위하여 싸웠던 인디안들의 이야기를 기억합니다. 백인들이 그들의 신성한 숲에 도로를 만들기 위하여 나무들을 잘랐습니다. 매일밤 인디안들이 나가서 백인들이 만든 그 길을 해체하면 그 다음 날 백인들이 와서 도로를 다시 짓곤 했습니다. 한동안 그 것이 반복되었습니다. 그러던 어느날, 숲에서 가장 큰 나무가 백인들이 일할 동안 그들 머리 위로 떨어져 말과 마차들을 파괴하고 그들 중 몇몇을 죽였습니다. 그러자 백인들은 떠났고 결코 다시 오지 않았습니다….' (브루스 개그논)





For any updates on the struggle against the Jeju naval base, please go to savejejunow.org and facebook no naval base on Jeju. The facebook provides latest updates.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Site Fwd: Jeju Island, Korea • Okinawa • Guam: Why does the US want more & bigger military bases in the Asia-Pacific?

* Ten Thousand Things, Feb. 9, 2010

Jeju Island, Korea • Okinawa • Guam: Why does the US want more & bigger military bases in the Asia-Pacific?


(From "US Bases and Empire: Global Perspectives on the Asia Pacific" by Catherine Lutz, posted at Japan Focus. For a larger view, click here.)

Why does the U.S. government--which already has a global military empire of over 1,000 bases--have an out-of-control appetite for more and bigger military bases, many of them located in places where locals do not want them?

Does the US wage wars simply to acquire territory and create justification to build yet more military bases in these places--Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen?

And how is it that most Americans remain unaware of this vast network of military bases and what it entails: confiscation of land from unwilling landowners; unceasing demands for base closures by locals (in the case of Okinawa, for more than sixty years); military-caused crime & violence (including rapes and deaths); environmental pollution and health issues created by the bases and weapons testing; and other "collateral damage"?

And why is the US engaging in military expansion throughout the Asia-Pacific--a region of relative and stable peace since the 1970s when U.S. forces withdrew from Vietnam?

The US already has around 100 military installations in Japan and Okinawa. This includes Kadena Air Base, the largest US military base in Asia. Why does it need new helipads in a pristine Okinawan forest? The US already has at least 40 military installations in Korea. Why does it want the South Korean government to destroy a coral reef in Jeju Island--a World Heritage site because of its rich and untouched biodiversity--to build another naval base? And the US already has military bases covering 1/3 of the island of Guam.

It's a huge stretch to consider China a military threat to the US when it is America's largest foreign creditor and given the immensity of economic integration between the two nations. In the early 1990's, political sensationalists unaware of the level of economic integration between the US and Japan predicted a US-Japan war "within twenty years." In hindsight, this appears silly. Now similar pundits are saying the same about the US and China.

Similarly, China is Japan's top trading partner. Moreover, the Hatoyama administration has already eased tensions that the former Koizumi-led government created with its theatrical visits to the Yasukuni war shrine and differences with China over memories of Japan’s fifteen year invasion (1931-45).

And North Korea may have an atomic bomb and a missile that can reach South Korea or waters near Japan. But if it ever engaged in such a suicidal attack--the US, Japan, and S. Korea would respond with nuclear and conventional power more than sufficient to destroy N. Korea. More bases, weapons and war games are overkill. The only solution is diplomatic engagement.

Why put beautiful and environmentally sensitive Jeju Island, Korea; Takae (Yanbaru Forest) and Henoko, northern Okinawa; and Guam under threat of new, larger and more technologically advanced US military presence--where residents are adamantly opposed--when these bases are not needed?

What is the purpose of these new US military bases planned for Okinawa, Guam (and the South Korean naval base intended to port U.S. and South Korean Aegis destroyers outfitted with missile defense systems at Jeju Island)?

Do they make sense to anyone besides those still infected with Cold War Era hangover fears?

For almost a century, ever since the US seized control of the Philippines in 1898, the US had a military presence there. Its two major bases of the post- World War II era were Clark Air Force Base and Subic Naval Station--once the US' largest military installations in Asia. But after the 1986 fall of Philippine dictator and loyal US ally Ferdinand Marcos, Filipinos voted in 1991 to kick out the US military and the US was forced to relinquish both bases.

After the fall of Saigon, in May 1975, the Royal Thai Government asked the US to close its military bases and remove all of its combat forces (27,000 troops, 300 aircraft) by 1976. In the late 1990s, Thailand also rejected new US requests to establish permanent military bases there.

The US has nevertheless continued its military expansion in the territories of more docile Asian governments and colonies--frequently overriding the political will of the citizens and residents of those places.

In the case of Guam, residents have generally been supportive of US military bases according to filmmaker Vanessa Warheit--(whose new film The Insular Empire: America in the Marianas explores Guam's history of colonization by the US):
Most families in the Marianas have family members serving in the US Armed Forces. The younger generation that has had the benefit of a college education is starting to push people to recognize the larger context -- but their culture is one that is based on a huge amount of respect for the elders (manam'ko), and the generation from the Pacific War - on Guam, anyway - still feels an enormous sense of gratitude to the US Marines for saving them from the Japanese Imperial Military.
But because of the US' latest move to expand the bases to over 40% of the island, many Guamanians--especially the indigenous Chamoru and younger people who are concerned abou future water issues as well as a negative impact on Guam's beautiful natural environment and tourist industry--are resisting. Their opponents include a huge transnational military construction industry packed with contractors already bidding for projects.

So now, we're witnessing local residents struggling to protect land rights; sensitive, biodiverse natural environments; and democratic processes--versus unnecessary military expansion fueled by international pork barrel politics--in Jeju island, Okinawa, and Guam.

--Jean Downey


Howard Zinn on the history of US colonialism in N. America, Asia, and the rest of the world.
Posted by TenThousandThings at 2:12 AM
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* Ten Thousand Things, Feb. 9, 2010

(From "US Bases and Empire: Global Perspectives on the Asia Pacific" by Catherine Lutz, posted at Japan Focus. For a larger view, click here.)

Some background on the military construction contractor feeding frenzy over Guam:

"Does the US want to turn Guam into the next Diego Garcia--an island turned into a massive military base by the US and UK in 1971?"

"Chamoru & Guam Residents Organize Against US $15B Military Buildup in Guam • Hawaii congressman fights to bag contracts for campaign contributor"

Over 1,500 companies have signed up for contractual bidding processes already conducted in Washington, Honolulu and Guam.

More companies will be submitting bids for contracts in Guam at the Annual Pacific Island Local Government (APILG) conference that will be held in Olangapo City, Philippiines on Feb. 18-21.

"Filipinos to bid in $15-B Guam US naval project:"
It’s sad and ironic that Filipinos, who fought so hard to get the U.S. bases out of their country because of the terrible social and environmental costs, would now be bidding on contracts for the military expansion on Guam, turning their past oppression into “experience” capital
Posted by TenThousandThings at 12:00 AM
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2 comments:

  1. maedaMarch 11, 2010 at 11:28 AM

    Wow, your logic is so strange. One thing I know, being Okinawian, I can say that when you see a pristine forest, it is usually an American base. The large influx of mainlanders trying to escape to a relaxed life in Okinawa has put so much pressure on the island. Much more than the Americans every will. Every base that has closed has been converted from green open spaces to ugly cities with no regard for nature. It is much easier to convert a runway to a natural park, than it is to convert a city into a natural park. The ocean and coral reefs on American fenced property is so beautiful, the areas where the Japanese have moved into is polluted and dying. Where my village is, we have huge influx of tourists and mainlanders who kill the reefs and leave trash everywhere. The occasional loud American group doesn't do the amount of damage that a tour bus does, and American pick up after themselves. The Japanese build docks and harbors in sensitive areas, which boats and tourist bring more destruction, spilled oil, dumping of chemicals. Since reversion back to Japan, the entire island has been at siege by Japanese.

    The American problem is only made worse by our politicians who don't know how to fix the economy, instead would rather point the finger at the Americans. If the imperial Japanese never came, there would have never been war on our island. We grew up with Masao Ito's book showing the destruction of Okinawa in the pictures. Some of us understand why he is so anti-American. Our village say 1/3 of the population wiped out. If the Japanese didn't show up, we wouldn't had the Americans showing up to fight them. The Japanese after all started the war, not the Okinawians. They are the same people that are trying to wipe our culture off the map. When my parent dies, they will be the last generation that speaks our native language.

    Ito-san needs to see the true enemy of the Okinawain people. It is not the Americans, when they showed there was nothing there. The city sprawl is consuming them as it will consume the entire island in 50 years. It is the lack of planning and vision. It is greed as people think they will become millionaires by selling their land to developers. The enemy is within, not external. Everything you write here has merit. But having lived in America, the people of America are to be trusted before the people's of the mainland. Their military bases have gone to help the Philippinos during the eruption, the tsumani wave, Haiti and other natural disasters of the world. We do not see the people's of other countries responding so quickly and with such strength to help others. Having the US Military in Okinawa will be able to help any country within hours, it is a burden worth carrying.

    War is horrible. My Mom witnessed it in world war 2. But the world has know more security and freedom with the Americans than the imperialist Japanese, the European or any other people of the world. We Okinawains know and respect that as we are a peace loving people, we were the first to ban all weapons from our island hundreds of years ago in a bid to secure safety of our people.

    I wish people would stop telling lies and all come together and live peacefully. One of the American founders said that having (or needing) a standing army will never ensure freedom for the people. The United Nations should move to eliminate all militaries of the word. The day a country will be the first to eliminate the military, is the day we can move one step closer to freedom and safety. Even the Japanese self defense forces are still a military. Let's work together to be free of weapons.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MalcAugust 9, 2010 at 11:56 PM

    Guam Base expansion is a joint venture of the American, Japanese, and Guam governments and will accommodate the influx of nearly 35,000 military and civilian personnel.

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