U.S. May Reduce Troops Stationed in Asia

On March 25, the Internet edition of The Washington Post announced that the U.S. Pentagon will withdraw about 15,000 troops in Asia, mostly by streamlining administrative staff of the U.S. military commands in South Korea and Japan, as part of an extensive realignment of American military forces. The total presence of American troops positioned is Asia is about 100,000.

The realignment planning is reported to be a month or two away from enforcement after President Bush’s approval with more consultations with allies to be held.

The Washington Post reported that much of the reduction of U.S. forces could be offset by a buildup of personnel and aircraft in Guam. In addition, by stationing another aircraft carrier battle group in either Guam or Hawaii, the Pentagon is planning to counterbalance the gap of military capacity in Korea and Japan.

The plan also includes new training and staging areas in Australia and expansion of military ties with Singapore and Thailand.

To compensate for their plan to withdraw about half of the 71,000 troops based in Germany, the Pentagon will establish smaller Spartan bases in Romania that will rapidly project U.S. military power.

Concerning this issue, Nam Dae-yeon, Korean Defense Ministry spokesman, stated, “We have not yet been informed of the reduction of military forces by the U.S.”

Dong-Won Kim daviskim@donga.com