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By Juliana Gittler

TOKYO — Talks are under way about possibly relocating part of the Army’s I Corps headquarters from Fort Lewis, Wash., to Camp Zama, Japan, U.S. officials confirmed Tuesday.

“Talks are in progress on changes that could affect the Pacific region,” said U.S. Army Japan spokesman Maj. Randy Cephus. “There are talks; however, it is in the planning phases.”

The development follows reports early this year that the Army plans to restructure its major commands in the region, moving general officers and possibly dismantling the 8th Army and the U.N. command in South Korea and USARJ in Japan.

“I am not able to discuss specifics, but among them is the possibility of moving a portion of the [I Corps] headquarters here,” Cephus said.

GlobalSecurity.org describes I Corps as “an early deploying corps for military contingencies in the Pacific … able to deploy on short notice. … War plans for I Corps include the defense of Korea or the defense of Japan. … I Corps base units include approximately 20,000 active-duty soldiers at Fort Lewis, Washington, and an equal number of U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers based in many of the fifty states.”

Other possibilities are being considered, Cephus added. The Army is streamlining major commands in all theaters as part of a Department of Defense transformation effort.

Japan’s Kyodo News Service reported the ongoing talks Tuesday. U.S. Pacific Command officials would not comment on the Kyodo report, but officials said the United States is consulting with many allies including Japan on ways to realign and strengthen the U.S. military in Asia.

Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that specific plans have been proposed.

HEADLINE: U.S. seeks to transfer Army I Corps' HQ to Japan

DATELINE: TOKYO, March 2

BODY:
The United States is asking Japan to accept the possible transfer of the headquarters of the U.S. Army's I Corps from Fort Lewis, Washington, to Camp Zama in Kanagawa Prefecture as part of a transformation of its military, U.S. and Japanese sources said Monday.

Tokyo has resisted the idea, but Washington has not retracted it as a pillar of the Defense Department's plans for military realignment in Asia, the sources said.

Japan views the U.S. plan as going beyond what it is required under the Japan-U.S. security treaty.

The plan was unveiled in late November during a senior working-level meeting between foreign and defense officials of the two countries held in Hawaii, they said.

During the meeting, U.S. officials said the Pentagon will thoroughly review the locations of military headquarters in a bid to enhance their mobility, and suggested a plan to relocate the I Corps to be the Army's strategic base in Asia, according to the sources.

The plan is apparently aimed at dealing with a possible war with North Korea, checking China's growing military strength and beefing up the Army's declining role within the U.S. military, the sources said.

I Corps is in charge of some 40,000 soldiers of both active and reserve forces and can deploy reinforcements within 48 hours to the Pacific Command in case of conflict in the Asia-Pacific region. The headquarters is staffed by some 500 personnel.

The U.S. officials also touched on the possibility a lieutenant general will head the relocated headquarters and that the Yokota Air Base -- the current Tokyo-based headquarters of U.S. forces in Japan -- be abolished, the sources said.

The Defense Department reportedly is also considering scrapping the headquarters of U.S. forces in South Korea and if so, the U.S. Army's infantry division in South Korea could also come under the envisaged headquarters in Zama.

Japanese officials who attended the Hawaii meeting brought the idea back to Tokyo but replied in December through a diplomatic channel in Washington that it finds it difficult to accept. Washington has since been putting the idea on hold, the sources said.

The Japanese side cited the possibility the relocation would infringe the bilateral security treaty and expected opposition from local governments as reasons for its resistance, they said.

Under the Japan-U.S. security treaty, Japan provides the U.S. military with bases to protect Japan and for the peace and security of Far East.

But critics warn the treaty is turning into a mere facade as the U.S. has never consulted with Japan as the treaty requires in deploying forces for combat operations from bases in Japan to such places as the Middle East.

Edited by - viperttb on Mar 03 2004 3:41 PM