US-Japan sign $4 billion security pact

September 12, 2000
Web posted at: 8:43 AM HKT (0043 GMT)

From Andrea Koppel,
CNN State Department Correspondent
and Elise Labott,
CNN State Department Producer

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The United States and Japan Monday signed an agreement to continue defense cooperation.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Secretary of Defense William Cohen and their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono and Defense Minister Kazo Torashima met Monday to discus their security relationship before signing the agreement.

The United States also raised concerns about Japanese whaling practices.

The agreement is a five-year renewal of an existing agreement on U.S.-Japan security cooperation, and calls on Japan to provide $4 billion to $4.5 billion in "host nation support" for U.S. forces stationed there.

This includes rent-free bases, facilities improvements to other U.S. military installations in the country, tax exempt status and reduced cost goods and services. In addition, the Small Measures Agreement provides for Japan to pay $1.5 billion in cash toward the maintenance of U.S. forces in the area.

The agreement notes that Japan spends only 1% of its gross domestic product on defense, but it "still ranks second in defense expenditures among the U.S.' key allies."

It also strengthens cooperation between the two countries on maintaining U.S. bases in Okinawa and streamlines "defense guidelines" on joint military ventures.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the current U.S.-Japan security treaty.

At a news conference, Albright called the U.S.-Japan security relationship the "cornerstone of US Asia policy, adding that the cooperation exemplified in the agreement "is in even more important as we face dramatic changes in Asian security."

"This agreement is a powerful statement to our nations' shared commitment to a continued US presence in the region," Cohen added.

Cohen will continue the discussions Tuesday at the Pentagon with Torashima, in advance of his visit to Japan during a trip to Asia next week.

Regional issues facing the U.S.-Japan security relationship include the need for continued cooperation with South Korea on maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula, encouraging North Korea out of its isolation and reducing the nuclear threat it poses, as well as the importance of China beginning to play a "constructive and responsible role in regional issues."

The Japanese ministers raised a number of concerns about the security relationship, including the return of a Japanese air field station used by U.S. forces. They also voiced concern about the financial commitment being asked of Japan to support U.S. troops in the region.

"We came to a consensus that this was essentially a financial or economic issue. It is essentially a security issue," said a senior State Department official.

"We are talking about the preservation of the alliance, which is critical to deployment of our forces there. And the Japanese recognize that in relative terms, that although it is considerable, it is a good investment in peace and stability."

The official added that Japan is the largest donor of host nation support for U.S. forces -- even larger than the contributions by European nations.

"It is very significant," he said of the Japanese contribution.

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