September 4, 2024

The actual number of U.S. military installations overseas is much higher than the number in published in the latest DoD report data. This was revealed by a U.S. researcher working on U.S base-related issues at a meeting of the Confederation of Lawyers of Asia and the Pacific (COLAP) held on August 29 in Tokyo.

In the meeting, Professor of Anthropology at American University David Vine said that according to the U.S. Department of Defense’s latest “Base Structure Report”, the U.S. military maintains 545 bases in 45 countries and regions. However in reality, he pointed out, the U.S. military has at least 750 bases in approximately 80 countries and regions. As a factor for this, Vine cited that in some countries like Iraq, Syria, and Israel, the U.S. military operates its bases without making their presence public.

Vine referred to the fact that currently, 13 countries such as Japan, the U.S., Russia, and China possess military installations in foreign countries, and said that among them, 90% are U.S. military bases. Japan operates one military facility in Djibouti.

Stating that U.S. military bases overseas serve as a “tripwire” for intervention, human rights abuses, and environmental destruction, the professor said that in order to realize the withdrawal of U.S. bases from across the world, the need is to build solidarity between peace movements and a wide range of social movements such as those focusing on human rights and environment issues.