EXCLUSIVE: UNC Steps Up Use of U.S. Bases in Japan in 2017

July 2, 2018

Tokyo- The United Nations Command gave Japan 27 notifications of plans to use U.S. bases in the country in 2017, compared with 15 notifications the previous year, informed sources said Sunday.

The surge in the use of U.S. bases by U.N. forces reflected increased provocations by North Korea, the Japanese and U.S. government sources told Jiji Press.

The UNC was created as the unified command for multinational forces against North Korea in the Korean War.

Eleven member countries of the forces, such as Britain and Australia, that concluded the status of U.N. forces agreement with Japan are allowed to use seven U.S. bases, such as the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, Sasebo base in Nagasaki Prefecture, and Kadena base in Okinawa Prefecture.

According to the sources, the UNC-Rear, located in the Yokota base in Tokyo, made to the Japanese government 14 advance notifications of the use of U.S. bases by ships and 13 notifications of that by aircraft.

Prior base-use notifications totaled 12 to 15 per year chiefly for aircraft between 2013 and 2016.

In 2017, the number of notifications of the base use by vessels, including an Australian submarine and a French intelligence ship, came to 14, up from one in the previous year.

The sharp rise suggests that the UNC's joint missions with the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet increased, the sources said, adding that the U.N. forces are also monitoring North Korea's maritime smuggling of U.N.-sanctioned goods. Jiji Press