The base is located on the island of Guam.
The US Marine Corps officially opened its first new military base in 70 years on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, with an area of four thousand acres (more than 1,600 hectares ), which is expected to one day be able to host about five thousand marines. This is reported by CNN.
The construction of the Camp Blaz military base was partially financed by the Japanese government as part of an agreement made during the administration of former US President Barack Obama to redeploy Marines from the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, where their presence has caused resentment.
The new opening ceremony, which was technically a relaunch of the base, follows its October 2020 “soft launch” in a limited ceremony during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The official opening of the new military base came amid a broader U.S. disengagement strategy and strengthening its forces in the Pacific region due to increasing tensions in relations with China.
“Camp Blaz will serve as a strategic hub as the Department of Defense implements the vision of the 2022 National Defense Strategy,” the Marine Corps press release states. threat from China” and “deterring strategic attacks on the United States, its allies and partners.”
Commandant of the US Marine Corps, General David Berger, touched on both of these issues at the ceremony.
“An advanced, permanent presence is key to regional security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz is a critical part of this. Moreover, it demonstrates our close relations with the Japanese government,” Berger said.
“The Japan-US alliance is the cornerstone of the people, peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the basis of Japan's foreign policy,” he said. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Yoshikawa Yuumi.
The U.S. Marine Corps says Camp Blaz is the first new facility it has deployed since 1952, when the Marine Corps Logistics Base opened in Albany, Georgia.
The new military base, which is not yet fully completed as construction work continues, joins another key US military facility, Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam.
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It was previously reported that in order to deter China, the US will deploy a modernized unit of the Marine Corps capable of firing anti-ship missiles on the island of Okinawa in Japan.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin strong> said the revamped unit, to be called the 12th Marine Coastal Regiment, would also be equipped with advanced intelligence.
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