US to move patrol-reconnaissance command from Hawaii to Japan: report

TOKYO (AFP) Jun 21, 2003
The US navy is considering relocating the Pacific Fleet's patrol and reconnaissance headquarters from Hawaii to Japan by the autumn, a news report said Saturday.

The move will be part of the global transformation of the US military presence, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.

With the lingering North Korean nuclear and missile crisis, the move is intended to bring the center of intelligence in Asia to Japan, the newspaper said.

The headquarters, to be moved to Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, some 570 kilometers (356 miles) north of Tokyo, controls P3C patrol aircraft used for special reconnaissance and EP3 electronic reconnaissance planes, it said.

The headquarters collects electronic data in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

It is capable of monitoring submarines of other countries and North Korean ballistic missiles, the paper said.

Washington and Tokyo are also working to relocate the headquarters of Patrol Wing 1, an American unit of the patrol and reconnaissance force, to Misawa from Yokohama, south of Tokyo, the Mainichi said.

The Misawa base is jointly used by the US air force, the US navy, Japanese Air Self-Defense Force and civilian aircraft.

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