THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
March 12, 2024 at 19:01 JST
The USS Rafael Peralta enters Ishigaki Port on March 11. (Satsuki Tanahashi)
ISHIGAKI, Okinawa Prefecture—A U.S. Navy Aegis destroyer was met with a protest and port workers' strike after arriving here on March 11, the first time such a vessel has anchored at a commercial port in the southernmost prefecture.
The USS Rafael Peralta requested a berth at Ishigaki Port for its crew to grab some rest and recreation and to replenish supplies.
On March 11, Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki met with reporters and said, “I must express concern that ships of this grade will use our ports on a regular basis.”
Three days earlier, the Okinawa prefectural government submitted a request to the Foreign Ministry, U.S. Naval Forces Japan and the U.S. Consulate General asking that Navy ships refrain from anchoring at commercial ports in the prefecture except in emergencies.
The Rafael Peralta has a displacement of about 9,000 tons, a crew of about 300 and is scheduled to remain at Ishigaki Port until 9 a.m. on March 13, according to the Ishigaki city government.
At a news conference on deck, Cmdr. Stephen Szachta, the commanding officer, said his ship’s mission was to maintain free and open waters.
The local branch of 50 or so dock workers went on strike to protest the anchoring and about 20 local residents gathered to protest what they said was the docking of a vessel of an unprecedented size.
Junichi Yamaguchi, the chairman of the local branch of the All Japan Dockworkers’ Union, said, “We are very concerned that our place of work is being used for military purposes.”
The last time a U.S. Navy ship anchored at Ishigaki Port was in September 2023 when a minesweeper docked. That was the first time in 14 years that a Navy ship entered the commercial port.
In January 2023, Japan and the United States agreed to expand joint use of defense facilities as part of an effort to strengthen defense of the Nansei chain of islands extending southwest from the main southern island of Kyushu.
(This article was written by Satsuki Tanahashi and Taro Ono.)
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