U.S. to maintain 100,000 troops in East Asia, Powell says

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yohei Kono in Washington on Saturday that there would be no drastic change in the structure of the U.S. forces stationed in East Asia, the Japanese daily Yomiuri reported Sunday.

In the first U.S.-Japan foreign ministers talks since the inauguration of President George W. Bush, Secretary Powell stressed that the U.S. military structure, including its forces in Okinawa, would be maintained under close consultation with Japan on the basis of the 1996 U.S.-Japan Joint Security Declaration. His statement implied that the present deployment of 100,000 U.S. troops in East Asia would be maintained.

Saying that although the Cold-War era has receded, the U.S. military presence is serving as a stabilizing effect on friendly nations, Powell affirmed that the U.S. military deployments in the North Atlantic and Pacific areas would continue, the Japanese paper reported.