Text Fwd: [famoksaiyanfriends] Latest News on Okinawa and Guam

* Texts fwd from Martha Duenas on July 20, 2010. [..] is by No base Stories of Korea.

White House Officials Headed to Guam
Pacific Daily News
July 20, 2010
By Dionesis Tamondong • July 20, 2010

Key decision-makers for the military buildup will be on Guam this week to speak with island officials about how concerns over the military's plans will be addressed.

[...]

The two Obama administration officials will be joined by Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Dorothy Robyn and representatives of various federal agencies involved in the resolution of those buildup issues. A public presentation will be held Friday to allow the community to ask agency representatives questions.

[..]

A final version of the EIS will be placed on the Federal Register and be available for public review by the last week of July.

After a 30-day waiting period, Pfannenstiel will identify which alternatives in the EIS plans have been approved. When the Record of Decision is made in September, many of the multibillion-dollar construction projects can begin.

The visit comes a week after news surfaced about a potential delay in the military buildup after major spending cuts were made in the 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, although those reductions aren't final yet.

_____________________________________________________________

Japan Reportedly Looking to Alter 2006 Futenma Agreement
Stars and Stripes
July 19, 2010

GINOWAN, Okinawa — Japan officials are seeking to modify a plan to build a new Marine air facility on Camp Schwab, according to Japanese media.

During working-level talks in Washington last week on plans to close Marine Corps Air Station Futenma and move the air units to a new facility in northeast Okinawa, Japanese negotiators proposed constructing just one 1,800-meter runway instead of the two V-shaped runways called for in the original 2006 agreement, according to Japanese media accounts citing unnamed sources.

During the two-day meeting they also proposed moving the runway offshore instead of stretching from the lower part of Camp Schwab onto reclaimed land in pristine Oura Bay, the media reports stated.

[...]

U.S. and Japanese officials declined to comment on details of the negotiations, which are to resume in Tokyo later this month. The two sides agreed in June to settle on specifics in August.

That election will be followed in November by the race for Okinawa governor, where the Futenma issue is expected to be a major factor.

In Washington, officials are taking a wait-and-see posture on the issue.

“We’re earnestly working through the technical details of the basing arrangement,” State Department spokesman Phillip J. Crowley told reporters Friday.

He said August remained the target date for agreeing on construction details. “But as to whether we’ll work through all the details, I can’t say at this point.”

Stars and Stripes reporter Chiyomi Sumida contributed to this report.

allend@pstripes.osd.mil