[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 47 (Monday, April 15, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H3233-H3234]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       JAPAN FORCES REDEPLOYMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentleman from Guam [Mr. Underwood] is recognized during 
morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, today President Clinton arrives in Asia 
on a trip designed to shore up the United States security relationship 
with Japan and Korea. Since the conviction of three marines on charges 
of raping a 12-year-old girl in Okinawa and the ensuing protests on the 
island, the future status of U.S. forces on Okinawa has been unclear.
  Following the rape incident, other issues, such as the return of land 
used by U.S. forces on Okinawa, have boiled to the surface. Last week, 
landowners on Okinawa refused to renew land leases

[[Page H3234]]

on which U.S. forces train. Pressure from Okinawan landowners has 
forced the Pentagon to reevaluate the future status of U.S. military 
bases on Okinawa.
  A discussion of United States forces in Japan inevitably involves an 
evaluation of the United States presence in both Guam and the Asian 
Pacific region and the Pentagon's policy of forward deployment of 
100,000 American forces in the region. I am pleased that the 
administration has stood firm on our security commitments and on 
maintaining the military forces necessary to support these commitments.
  As recent incidents in the Taiwan Straits and North Korea's military 
provocations in the DMZ demonstrate, the United States must maintain 
the flexibility to respond quickly to threats in the region. In spite 
of technological advances which enable rapid deployment of forces from 
other U.S. bases to the Pacific, there is no substitute for a forward-
deployed U.S. presence in the region. For 50 years, the U.S. presence 
in the Asia Pacific region has maintained the peace and made possible 
the economic prosperity the region and the United States have enjoyed.
  Yesterday, Secretary of Defense William Perry announced that the U.S. 
military will give back to Okinawa about 20 percent of the island 
property it uses for training. Secretary Perry qualified this action by 
saying that ``we are in no way backing off from our view that the 
United States military presence in Japan, in Okinawa, is critical to 
security in the region.'' While some of these forces are being 
transferred to other bases in Japan, the Secretary said the United 
States is now considering moving some military forces from Japan to 
other places in the region, including Guam.
  Secretary Perry's thinking on this issue proves what Guam has been 
saying all along: Guam should be considered in the context of its role 
in Asia and not compared to domestic bases. It appears that Guam is 
Secretary Perry's fallback position. The Defense Department should make 
clear its intentions for Guam. This is only fair to Guam, which has 
been subjected to mixed signals from DOD--on the one hand we are 
enduring military cuts mandated by BRAC 95 while on the other hand we 
are told our island is DOD's fallback.
  The problematic status of foreign basing should make the Pentagon 
reevaluate its timetable and pace of base closures on Guam. Guam and 
its U.S. citizens provides stability, and unlike foreign bases, the 
military does not have to deal with arduous political issues and 
international agreements.
  The reliance on workers at foreign ship repair facilities undercuts 
the Pentagon's support on Guam. As a matter of principle, American 
workers on Guam deserve the benefits of forward deployment. As a matter 
of policy, the Pentagon would be prudent to guarantee an effective 
transition for the ship repair facility on Guam which was slated for 
closure by a recent BRAC decision. A prudent policy would be to keep 
the Military Sealift Command supply ships forward deployed on Guam 
while Guam transitions to a privatized SRF.
  The successful transition to a privatized SRF-Guam depends on repair 
work from these supply ships. Keeping the supply ships on Guam for the 
foreseeable future is good policy for three reasons:
  First, the supply ships will help Guam implement its privatization by 
providing SRF with a base load of work;
  Second, this policy will provide support for American workers at an 
American shipyard;
  And third, this policy will give the Navy a reliable ship repair 
facility that supports their forward presence in Asia unencumbered by 
changing international dynamics.
  The Navy's national security concerns cannot be divorced from Guam's 
economic recovery. The Navy has long-term requirements on Guam, but it 
must also recognize the needs of its host. I am hopeful that the 
Pentagon will learn a lesson from its experience in Okinawa: unlike 
foreign bases, Guam is reliable.

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