August 21, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo During a mass outbreak of the novel coronavirus occurred on the U.S. Navy’s USS Theodore Roosevelt en route, the U.S. military considered a plan to transport about 3,000 crewmembers to U.S. military bases in Okinawa. The crew eventually disembarked in Guam, but they have been withdrawn, so there has been no talk of remedying the situation. By this stage, bringing a large group of people, including people who test positive ...
August 21, 2020 Ryukyu Shimpo
During a mass outbreak of the novel coronavirus occurred on the U.S. Navy’s USS Theodore Roosevelt en route, the U.S. military considered a plan to transport about 3,000 crew members to U.S. military bases in Okinawa. The crew eventually disembarked in Guam, but they have been withdrawn, so there has been no talk of remedying the situation.
By this stage, bringing a large group of people, including people who test positive for the coronavirus, to other countries’ territories should be considered an absolutely unacceptable option. Clearly the U.S. military’s perception is that it can freely use Okinawa as if it was U.S. territory. The continuation of such circumstances is due to nothing other than the weak attitude of the Japanese central government, which has come to accept the U.S. military’s stance.
The Japanese government must correct the U.S. military’s designs in terms of the planned transport of these crew members to Okinawa. It is essential that we strongly protect so that coronavirus infection is not brought in by way of the U.S. military.
According to an investigative report from the U.S. Navy, three crew members were confirmed to have the novel coronavirus on March 24, when the USS Roosevelt was en route from Vietnam to Guam in the western Pacific Ocean. In considering an isolation location for the crew members, the 7th Fleet Headquarters calculated that a total of 3,000 rooms could be secured on Marine Corps military bases in Okinawa, such as Futenma Air Station, and initially planned to transport crew members from the aircraft carrier to Okinawa by air route.
There was a possibility that the crew members would be transported from the USS Roosevelt to Okinawa and settle in prior to acceptance from the Japanese government.
Under Article 9 of the U.S.-Japan Status of Forces Agreement, U.S. military personnel are allowed special privileges relating to emigration and immigration, and U.S. military troops may directly enter military bases across Japan by U.S. military aircraft, exempt from Japan’s medical inspections.
In whatever manner Okinawa and Japan attempt to prevent the coronavirus being brought in over national boarders, the presence of the U.S. military bases is an unfortunate hole in the countermeasures. Initially, the U.S. military made no public announcement about the numbers of people infected within Okinawa. Also, circumstances, such as the infection status on military bases due to U.S. troops entering Japan and the medical care set-up, have been kept entirely in a black box.
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http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2020/08/26/32581/
