Saturday, April 7, 2001

By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida, Okinawa bureau

NAHA, Okinawa – Okinawa officials are keeping close watch on the growing crisis between China and the United States over the emergency landing of a Navy surveillance plane on a Chinese island.

If tensions continue, government officials here fear there may be a build-up of U.S. military activity on the island.

"The increasing tension might give a negative influence on the reduction of U.S. military bases on Okinawa," a prefectural official said Thursday. "We will carefully watch how the situation develops."

He said the prefecture is awaiting a briefing on the situation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Navy EP-3E Aries II was flying a reconnaissance mission off the southern coast of China when a Chinese F-8 interceptor reportedly bumped it as it buzzed by. The Navy plane was damaged and forced to make an emergency landing on China’s Hainan Island.

The Chinese jet plunged into the sea. The pilot has not been located.

"The details are not known yet," Oyakawa said. "But, it is not favorable for Okinawa that tension between U.S. and China continues.

"We want the relationship between the U.S. and China to … be resolved peacefully and quickly so we can continue to work toward a good outcome to the military-related problems on Okinawa," he said. "The prefectural government will keep an eye on how the situation progresses."

Hiroshi Matsuda, chairman of the Chubu Area Labor Union, showed more concern.

"The fact that the spy airplane flew from Okinawa showed that, whether we like it or not, Okinawa could be drawn into an international conflict," he said. "Since the Vietnam War in the 1960s, the function of Okinawa’s military bases as the frontline has remained unchanged."

Some local newspapers, which usually take an anti-base stance, have addressed their concerns in editorials.

"This (incident) clearly indicates that there is a danger for Japan, especially Okinawa, of being automatically dragged into the trouble once any conflict or dispute arises between U.S. and China," the Okinawa Times said on Tuesday.

"For Okinawa, a conflict between U.S. and China is absolutely a crisis that should never happen," the paper’s editorial stated. "For the stability of Asia, increased armaments in East Asia must be absolutely avoided."

In 1996, the United States and Japan agreed to return about 20 percent of the base property used by the U.S. military on Okinawa by 2008. About 75 percent of the land used by the U.S. military in Japan is located on Okinawa, covering about one-fifth of the island.

So far, anti-base groups on Okinawa have been silent on the incident.

Back to April's stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February, 2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home