Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has said about 100 U.S. Marines will move to Guam from Japan's Okinawa in December as the first of 4,000 members of the force set to be relocated under a long-agreed bilateral plan.
Some Marines who are tasked with logistical preparations for the transfer have already moved to the U.S. island territory in the Pacific, the governor told Kyodo News on Monday.
A U.S. military source said the logistics personnel came to Guam in May.
Under the plan, 4,000 of the approximately 19,000 U.S. Marine Corps personnel currently stationed in Okinawa will be relocated as agreed upon in 2012. The project is set to be completed by around 2028, according to the Congressional Research Service and other sources.
The transfer is meant to ease the base-hosting burden for the island prefecture in southern Japan.
"For the most part, our people are welcoming of the military buildup," Leon Guerrero said, expressing hope that a more pronounced U.S. military presence will protect Guam in case a conflict erupts over the self-ruled democratic island of Taiwan, which China views as a renegade province to be reunified by force if necessary.
She also said the military expansion will economically benefit local businesses.
Meanwhile, Leon Guerrero's defense advisers said the Guam government is also working closely with the military to prevent possible misbehavior involving Marines by setting some restrictions, such as limiting the time establishments can serve alcohol.
Leon Guerrero said the remaining Marines will continue to be relocated in batches, as the construction of Camp Blaz is targeted to be fully completed in the "next two to three years."
In a separate interview, U.S. Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman, commander of the Joint Task Force that oversees military operations in the Micronesia area, including Guam, said the soldiers' barracks will be completed this year as one of the first operational parts of the camp.
Despite a slight setback due to a typhoon that hit Guam last year, Huffman said he sees no other problems that may delay the construction project partially financed by the Japanese government.
Among the Japan-funded facilities inside the base will be the administrative building, living quarters for Marines, a fire station, a clinic and a dining facility.
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