A fierce wind with a velocity of 12 to 13 meters per second started blowing on the surface of the sea off Miyako island after a 50-ton ferry left the port of Hirara on the island. Sailing to Shimoji island is difficult under winter conditions and the wind made the voyage even harder than usual.

Apart from the incident of a Chinese submarine sneaking into nearby waters, Shimoji island is just one of the Ryukyu island chain which does not attract any attention.

The Han-class submarine on November 10 last year entered Japanese waters located in the Ryukyu sea zone and explored water temperatures and geological features near a V-shaped undersea valley which exists between Miyako island and Ishigaki island. Its purpose was to find out the island's strategic value once it was blockaded.

According to media reports, Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush discussed the idea of stationing U.S. troops on Shimoji island when they met at the United Nations in September last year.

The island, which is connected to Irabu island, measures 9.54 square kilometers and its average temperature is estimated at 23 degree Celsius. It has an Asian subtropical climate. The population of the island is 7,000. The sea surrounds three corners of the island.

This beautiful island is the best place for pilot training flights. When the Japanese central government planned to build a site for commercial flight training on one of remote islands, it was easy to select this island for that purpose due to its advantageous points.

Its strategic location, however, also attracted attention from outside Japan. It is located in the middle of the Ryukyu islands, just 300 kilometers away from a U.S. military base in Okinawa's Naha and 180 kilometers away from the Senkaku islands (Diaoyudao in Chinese), over which both Japan and China have been claiming for their sovereignty. Offshore oil and gas fields now under contention between Tokyo and Beijing are also near the islands. Taiwan stands only 450 kilometers away from Shimoji and it takes only 30 minutes by air to arrive over Formosa.

The 500-kilometer radius from Shimoji can be regarded as a ''mine zone.'' There is no question of the island's strategic value. In fact, three years ago, a U.S. company proposed the idea of using the island as a new base for maintaining security in East Asia and of stationing both U.S. and Japanese troops there in order to prepare for a crisis in the Taiwan Strait.

At that time, the Chinese government described the island's strategic position in various ways: it is the best place to impede the unification of China, it is a new place to challenge Beijing by drawing its military strategy down to the south, and the U.S. military is driving a nail into China's front gate.

When a Taiwanese media crew unexpectedly visited the airfield on the island, workers there were surprised. However, they did not prevent the visitors from viewing the site. Climbing to the top of a tower building and overlooking from there, one can see a runway which is 3,000 meters long and 60 meters wide. An Airbus passenger aircraft of All Nippon Airway stayed and waited for instructions from the control tower. Another aircraft repeated takeoff and landing drills.

The northeast wind which blow off the coast of the island is very strong and its noise shakes one's ears. The runway was similar to that of Okinawa's Kadena base. Indeed, Shimoji appears to be an important place in terms of U.S. military strategy. Because the island is the only one in the Ryukyu island chain which has a runway where fully loaded F15 military aircraft can safely take off and land.

Soon after the Chinese submarine incident occurred, the news media in Hong Kong reported that Taiwan may help in implementing a plan to use Shamokin Island's airfield by the U.S. and Japanese militaries through financial aid of 610 billion dollars given by Washington. However, there was no evidence to substantiate such an allegation

It is not easy for the island to use the current airfield for military purposes. Local residents are strongly opposed to that plan and the mayor of Irabu town was subject to disapproving glares from the people, although he insisted that he would welcome Japanese troops while refusing to accept U.S. troops.

When I visited the island, a U.S. military airplane stopped over for fuel supply and triggered tension on the island. An opposition group hoisted placards to protest the arrival of the U.S. military airplane. Hirara Mayor Akira Ishimine made it clear that the island is not to be used for military purposes, which is stipulated under the agreement between the Ryukyu and central governments. The head of Okinawa Prefecture's Miyako Administrative Branch also explained the same thing. Former Okinawa Governor Chobyo Yara clearly said that the island would be used for civilian purposes and that no other uses were acceptable. It is understandable that the island will not welcome troops regardless of whether they are Japanese or U.S., which go to stay there.

Nonetheless, the island has to squarely face reality. The main income of the local people comes from the cultivation of sugar cane. Other income sources are obtained from charges for fuel supplies for aircraft and taxes on landings and take-offs. However, the frequency of using the airfield for flight practice has been decreasing since 1992 as simulation methods for drills have been improving.Ishimine recognizes this fact. If Okinawa administers the airfield, it is going to be a financial burden for the prefecture. Meanwhile, if the central government controls the field, it might try to pave the way for using the field for military purposes.

The airfield is now classified in the third class category which stipulates the governor's jurisdiction. If it is classified in the second class category, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Legal and political questions have to be solved. As long as the airfield is classified in the third category, the purpose for using it cannot be limited legally. Compensation can be a means to deal politically with the opposition group. In any event, the central government will make a final decision on that matter. In Tokyo, Japan and the U.S. have already studied the possibility of using the airfield, which would enable both their air forces to conduct military drills over the sea. There has already emerged a concern that the island might be placed in the front line of military maneuvers by Tokyo and Washington.