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Lawmakers question U.S.-Japan defense

A U.S. Navy FA-18 Super Hornet flies during the "Annual Exercise 2011" U.S.-Japan joint military exercise in the Pacific Ocean east of Okinawa island, Japan, on November 2, 2011. UPI/Keizo Mori
A U.S. Navy FA-18 Super Hornet flies during the "Annual Exercise 2011" U.S.-Japan joint military exercise in the Pacific Ocean east of Okinawa island, Japan, on November 2, 2011. UPI/Keizo Mori | License Photo

WASHINGTON, April 27 (UPI) -- U.S. lawmakers told the U.S. secretary of defense they have concerns about plans to pull military forces from the Japanese island of Okinawa.

About 9,000 U.S. Marines are to transfer from Okinawa as part of a bilateral agreement to cut back on the military presence in Japan.

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U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he was "very pleased" with the deal that came after several years of diplomatic wrangling.

"Japan is not just a close ally but also a close friend," Panetta said in a statement.

U.S. senators, led by Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said there were "serious questions" that weren't addressed by the Defense Department.

"These questions pertain to the core details of this or any basing arrangement, including cost estimates, military sustainment and force management and how it would support a broader strategic concept of operations in this increasingly vital region," Levin said.

The White House is shifting strategic focus to Asia as it withdraws from conflicts in the Middle East. U.S. defense officials last year expressed concern about the "pace and scope" of Chinese military investments.

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An op-ed article published in January by China's state-run news agency Xinhua warned Washington against "recklessly practicing militarism" in the Asia-Pacific region.

Japan, South Korea and the United States, meanwhile, have expressed concern that North Korea may be planning to test a nuclear device.

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