The US and Japan reached agreement on consolidating Marine Corps airborne operations on the island of Okinawa. The deal calls for moving operations at Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma to another base on the island. The decision to move the base was made in 1996, but negotiations dragged on. The agreement reached on Oct. 26 comes at a time when the US is attempting to renegotiate the presence of its military on Japanese soil in light of Asian-Pacific security threats such as North Korea.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.