Japan-U.S. military drill might be cancelled: report
ROC Central News Agency
2012/10/20 22:21:52
Tokyo, Oct. 20 (CNA) Japan and the United States are considering cancelling a joint military drill, which was scheduled to be held in the Ryukyu Islands, because of opposition by the islands’residents, the Ryukyu Times reported on its Website on Saturday.
The drill, which was supposed to simulate retaking of an island from foreign forces, was planned to be held on an uninhabited island in Ryukyu sometime between Nov. 5 and Nov. 11.
The planned exercise raised concern in Beijing, which is engaged in a territorial dispute with Tokyo over the Diaoyutai Islands.
The Diaoyutais are a group of uninhabited islets 240 nautical miles southwest of Okinawa, the largest island of the Ryukyu Islands.
However, the U.S and Japan are considering cancelling the drill after residents of Ryukyu expressed opposition to the plan, the Ryukyu Times said. Their opposition stiffened recently after it was reported that a Japanese woman was raped by two U.S. soldiers stationed there, the report said.
(By Yang Ming-chu and Maubo Chang)
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