It might be thought that, unlike civilians, military personnel are subject to strict discipline and clearly-defined responsibilities throughout their time of service. There may be interservice rivalries and traditional competition between elite fighting units, but overall the expectation must be that all members of the armed forces will conduct themselves in a decent manner toward civilians.
On the Japanese island of Okinawa where the United States has maintained a significant military presence for the last 80 years, this correct behavior off-base has clearly not been happening. This week, as many as 65,000 inhabitants of Okinawa took part in the latest demonstration demanding that the bases be closed down and the US military be sent home.
There is widespread outrage at the rape and murder of a local woman for which a former US Marine, who was working as a civilian contractor at the US Kadena Air Force base, has been arrested. Eleven years ago, three US servicemen raped a 12-year-old local girl. As a result, the Pentagon agreed to close the Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma where the men were stationed. But the facility, within Ginowan City has yet to be shut down and now there are plans, resisted by locals, to move it elsewhere on the island.
These terrible crimes are only part of the appalling conduct that Okinawans allege. Everything from traffic violations to robbery and assault, often by drunken American personnel, has served to sour relations between the US bases and their Japanese hosts. Last month, conduct at one facility became so bad that the consumption of alcohol was banned on and off military premises until personnel displayed a proper sense of responsibility.
On top of this, there are complaints about the noise and pollution of aircraft, vehicles and other equipment at the 32 different US bases on Okinawa which actually occupy almost a quarter of the island.
There would seem to be two extremely good reasons why Washington should be listening very carefully to these latest protests. The first is that the economy of the island depends hugely upon the US military presence.
Thousands of Okinawans work on the bases or are involved supporting them.
Thus when locals start demanding that the American military go, they are knowingly risking local prosperity. The second is that Washington finds itself in an increasingly tense face-off with the Chinese, not least over Beijing’s territorial claims in the China Sea. Now is not the time to be jeopardizing the future of military bases that are important to the American response to China’s expansionist strategy.
It seems clear what has gone wrong. The members of the vast US military machine, unfortunately, still work on the “Them and Us” principle, in which despite “Localization” classes, US service personnel show scant respect for the locals and virtually zero sensitivity for their culture. This proved utterly disastrous in Iraq. It has inflamed tensions around US bases elsewhere in the world, including Germany and Turkey. In Okinawa, the Pentagon has a chance to try and put this right. The arrogance of 80 years occupying, albeit by treaty, a significant part of this southern Japanese island has to be ended. Whatever the strategic benefits to the host country, US personnel must appreciate that they are guests in someone else’s country and enforce basic military discipline to ensure scrupulously correct behavior.
