Wenegatetheresolution.

Resolved:TheUnitedStatesshouldwithdrawitsmilitarypresence
fromOkinawa

ContentionOne:HumanitarianAid

OkinawaisinaprimelocationfortheU.Stogivehumanitarianaidforpeopleinthe
region.Incatastrophiceventssuchastsunamis,typhoons,earthquakesetc.,theU.S.wouldbein
animmediatelocationtohelpthepeopleofJapansurvive.
TheU.S.MarinepresencecontinuouslyhelpstheU.S.toconducthumanitarian
operations.Especiallyinresponsetothe2011naturaldisastersinJapan(Earthquakeand
Tsunami),theU.S.militaryforcesinAsia,specificallyinOkinawa,respondedimmediatelyand
workedwiththeJapaneseSelfDefenseForces(SDF).FromCNNEveBowerreportsI nthe
wakeoftheearthquake,theU.S.militaryissendinghumanitarianaidandtechnicalassistanceto
thehardesthitareasofJapan.ManyoftheseeffortsarebeinglaunchedfrombasesonOkinawa
Island,wheretheUnitedStatesmaintainsapermanentmilitarypresenceunderatreatythetwo
countriessignedafterWorldWarII.StagingareasinOkinawaallowedU.S.assistancetoreach
theaffectedareasfasterthanaidfrommanyothercountries.Perhapsmorethanatanytimein
recentmemory,theU.S.militaryhasmadeacompellingcaseforitspresenceonOkinawa.1
BruceKlingnerreportsthatTheOkinawaMarineshaveroutinelybeentheprimary
responderstomajornaturaldisastersinAsia,suchasthe2004Asiantsunami,mudslidesinthe
Philippines,andthetyphooninTaiwan.TheMarineshaveledorparticipatedin12significant
humanitarianassistancedisasterrelief(HADR)missionsduringthepastfiveyearsalone,
helpingtosaveh undredsofthousandsoflivesintheregion.Forexample,inresponsetothe
March2011naturaldisastersinJapan,U.S.militaryforcesinAsiarespondedquicklyand
workedseamlesslywiththeJapaneseSelfDefenseForces.OperationTomodachi(friendship)
highlightedtheversatilityofU.S.forcesdeployedonOkinawa.DuringOperationTomodachi,
theproximityofFutenmaMCAStoMarinegroundandlogisticsunitswascriticaltotherapid
deploymentofsuppliesandpersonnel.MarineassetsonOkinawabeganflyingtoJapanwithin
fourhoursofbeingtasked.HelicopterandfixedwingC130aircraftfromFutenmawere
involvedinhumanitarianoperations,asweremembersofthe31stMEU,3rdMarineLogistics
Group,and1stMarineAirWing,allbasedinOkinawa.
AmbassadorJohnRoosexplains,humanitarianaidcanbeseeninthePhilippines,the
JapaneseTsunami,andover10otherexamplesinthepast5yearsthathaveusedtheOkinawa
marinesforhumanitarianaideffortsandhavesaved3 00,000displacedpeople.Thismobility
andforwardpresenceiswhytheMarinesinOkinawaareroutinelyourprimaryresponderto
majornaturaldisastersinAsia,suchasthe2004AsianTsunami,mudslidesinthePhilippines,or
therecenttyphooninTaiwan.AlittleknownfactisthattheMarines,alongwithotherU.S.

1
"Earthquakeresponsedoesn'tshakeOkinawans...CNN.com."2011.4Apr.2016
<http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/12/japan.us.okinawa/>
forces,haveledorparticipatedin12significanthumanitarianassistance/disasterreliefmissions
inthelastfiveyearsalone,helpingtosavehundredsofthousandsoflivesinthisregion.

TheU.S.disasterreliefoperationsgeneratedconsiderablegoodwillinJapan,includingon
Okinawa.TheFukushimaReliefreportsthatTheresponseoftheU.S.military,whichdeployed
astrategyinconjunctionwiththeSDF,tothedisasterwasfast.2

ContentionTwo:Protection

SubpointA:MilitarySupport
InthewakeofWorldWarII,theU.S.andJapanforgedasecurityalliance.In
1951thetwonationssignedU .S.JapanMutualSecurityTreatywhichoutlinedasecurity
arrangementforJapaninlightofitspacifistconstitution.U.S.forceswouldremainonJapanese
soilafterJapanregainedsovereignty.TheMutualSecurityTreatywasr atifiedin1952andgives
theU.S.theabilityandrighttoestablishanymilitarybaseontheislandssurroundingJapan.
HoweverthetreatystatesthattheU.ScanonlydothisiftheU.S.promisedthatitwoulddefend
Japanunderanysortofattack.3
TheUSbeingonOkinawaprovidessecurityfortheJapaneseincaseofaggressionsfrom
othercountries(SuchasNorthKoreaandChina)aswellasprotection.AfterWorldWarIIthe
Japanesemilitarywasreducedtoasmalldefensiveunit,notnearlylargeenoughtoprotectJapan
frommilitaryactionagainstJapan.InJapansconstitutionitstatesthat"land,sea,andairforces,
aswellasotherwarpotential,willneverbemaintained,"(Article9)Thisessentiallymeansthat
theU.S.militarypresencerepresentsJapan'sstrongestlineofdefenseintheeventofanattack.
WiththeU.SinOkinawa,wecanprovideadequatemilitarysupportfortheJapanese.IftheUS
weretowithdrawtheirforcesfromJapan,andbyextensionOkinawa,wewouldbedirectly
betrayingourowntreatyandforsakingtheJapanesetoallmannerofattacks.

SubpointB:InternationalRelations
OkinawaisinastrategiclocationtomonitorChinaandNorthKorea,twoofthe
majorthreats.ThelocationisessentialfortheU.Stocontinuetokeepvolatilenationsinline.
Chinaistheobviousone,sinceinrecentyearsChinahasbecomeincreasinglymoreaggressive.
WiththeU.ShavingapresencenearChina,inOkinawa,wehaveaquickerreactiontimeif
Chinadecidestoattack.GordonG.ChangreportsthatO nthedayafterChristmas,[2015]three

2
"HowtheUSgovernmentishelpingJapanWashingtonPost."2015.3Apr.2016
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federaleye/post/howtheusgovernmentishelpingjapan/2011/0
3/16/ABZwHHf_blog.html>
3
"TheU.S.JapanSecurityAllianceCouncilonForeign..."2013.3Apr.2016
<http://www.cfr.org/japan/usjapansecurityalliance/p31437>
Chineseboats,onemodifiedtocarryfourcannons,enteredJapansterritorialwaterssurrounding
theSenkakuIslandsinthesouthernportionoftheEastChinaSea.Themove,adangerous
escalation,isthefirsttimethePeoplesRepublicofChinasentanarmedvesselintoanareathat
Tokyoclaimsasitsown.4ThisisaclearsignthatwiththeU.SmilitaryinOkinawaornot,
Chinaisreadytomobilizetheirforces.JamesMaygerandYujiNakamurawriteT heJapanese
governmentformallyprotestedtheentryofanarmedChinesegovernmentshipandtwoother
vesselsintowatersthatJapanclaimsasitsownonSaturday,accordingtoanofficialinthe
JapaneseMinistryofForeignAffairs.ThisisthefirsttimethatanarmedChinesevesselhas
intrudedintotheareasthatJapansclaimsasitsterritory,theofficialsaid.5SincetheU.Shas
hadbasesonJapanandOkinawasinceWorldWarII,andthisisthefirstreportedcaseofChina
beingaggressive,wecaneasilyseethattheU.Spresenceisnotcausingthebadrelations.
TheUSbeingnearPacificnations,doesnotonlydeterChina,butanyotherhostile
nationsthatmightattack.EssentiallybasesinOkinawaarenecessaryinstoppingfuturethreats.

Itisforthesereasonsthatwenegate.

4
"NowChinaWantsOkinawa,SiteofU.S.BasesinJapan..."2015.6Apr.2016
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/31/nowchinawantsokinawasiteofusbasesinjapan.h
tml>
5
"JapanProtestsIntrusionofArmedChineseVesselIntoits..."2015.7Apr.2016
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20151226/japancoastguardsaysthreechineseshipsnears
enkakuislands>