With begin with CNBC and the latest shrieking from Europe:
Nato must prepare for Russian Blitzkrieg, warns UK general
Nato forces must prepare for an overwhelming Blitzkrieg-style assault by Russia on an eastern European member state designed to catch the alliance off guard and snatch territory, the deputy supreme commander of the military alliance has warned.
Openly raising the prospect of a conventional armed conflict with Russia on European soil, the remarks by Sir Adrian Bradshaw, second-in-command of Nato’s military forces in Europe, are some of the most strident to date from Nato. They come amid a worsening in relations with the Kremlin just days into a second fragile ceasefire aimed at curbing continued bloodshed in Ukraine’s restive east between Kiev’s forces and Russian-backed separatists.
Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank in London on Friday, Sir Adrian warned that as well as adapting to deal with subversion and other “hybrid” military tactics being used by Russia in Ukraine, allied forces needed to be prepared for the prospect of an overt invasion.
The Christian Science Monitor sounds the latest alarm:
Big US, Canadian shopping malls: Next terrorist target?
A new video threat from the Al Qaeda-linked extremist group Al Shabab calls for terrorist attacks on major shopping malls in the US, Canada, and Britain. Malls are adding extra security.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says he’s “confident” that big shopping malls will enhance security measures in the wake of new threats of attack by Al Shabab, an Al Qaeda-linked extremist group based in Somalia.
Still, Secretary Johnson said on CNN Sunday, “Anytime a terrorist organization calls for an attack on a specific place, we’ve got to take that seriously.” Johnson spoke on five Sunday morning TV news programs.
On Saturday, Al Shabab released an online video calling for attacks on western shopping centers, including the Mall of America in Minnesota, the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, and Oxford Street in London.
From the Washington Post, first responder/worst responder?:
DHS tackles endless morale problems with seemingly endless studies
Afflicted with the lowest morale of any large federal agency, the Department of Homeland Security did what comes naturally to many in government.
It decided to study the problem. And then study it some more.
The first study cost about $1 million. When it was finished, it was put in a drawer. The next one cost less but duplicated the first. It also ended up in a drawer.
So last year, still stumped about why the employees charged with safeguarding Americans are so unhappy, the department commissioned two more studies.
And from the Guardian, cashing in:
Al-Shabaab mall threat ‘all the more reason’ to avoid shutdown, says homeland security chief
Somali terror group releases video threatening US, Canada and UK malls
DHS funding will end Friday if immigration impasse is not solved
The US homeland security secretary on Sunday seized on a new threat of attacks against western shopping centres by Islamist terrorists to pressure Congress to avert a partial shutdown of his department and agree to a funding deal.
Jeh Johnson said a propaganda video released by al-Shabaab on Saturday calling for strikes on the Mall of America in Minnesota, Oxford Street and two Westfield malls in London, and Canada’s West Edmonton Mall, showed “all the more reason why I need a budget”.
“It’s absurd that we’re even having this conversation about Congress’s inability to fund homeland security in these challenging times,” Johnson told CNN. On ABC, he said “it’s imperative that we get it resolved”, adding that senators and members of the House were each blaming those in the other chamber for the impasse.
The Independent covers a precedent set:
How Britain’s treatment of ‘The Hooded Men’ during the Troubles became the benchmark for US ‘torture’ in the Middle East
When Amal Clooney flies into Belfast shortly to meet a group of former Irish prisoners known as ‘The Hooded Men’ it will be the latest chapter of an extraordinary story concerning a quest for justice that has lasted almost half a century.
The international law and human rights specialist has joined the legal team representing all but one of the surviving men who say they were tortured under the British Government’s internment programme. More than 340 men were rounded up on 9-10 August 1971 but a group of just 12 were chosen for “deep interrogation” and subjected to hooding, prolonged stress positions, white noise, sleep deprivation and deprivation of food and drink – the torture methods developed by the British Army during the Troubles and collectively known as the “five techniques”. Two more men suffered the same treatment later that year.
The Hooded Men won their case against the UK in 1976 when the European Commission of Human Rights ruled the techniques were torture, but the findings were overturned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on appeal two years later. It ruled that while the five techniques amounted to “a practice of inhuman and degrading treatment” they did not cause suffering of the intensity and cruelty to constitute torture.
From BuzzFeed News, solidarity in the North:
Muslims In Norway Form Human Shield Around Synagogue In Sign Of Solidarity
More than 1,000 people attended the peaceful demonstration in Oslo, with many holding hands and surrounding the synagogue in a protective ring.
Hundreds of Muslims formed a human protective shield around an Oslo synagogue Saturday in a sign of solidarity with the Jewish community there, Reuters reported.
The peaceful demonstration followed the killings of two people at a Copenhagen synagogue the previous week by a Danish-born son of Palestinian parents.
Pictures of the event circulated through social media tagged with the hashtag #ringofpeace.
From teleSUR, old school spookery:
Spying Scandal Threatens to Hurt Ties Between Chile and Peru
Peruvian media reported Thursday that three Peruvian navy officers were under investigation for allegedly spying on behalf of Chile.
The Chilean Foreign Minister stated Sunday that he is in consultation with the Chilean ambassador in Peru in order to help prepare the official response to Peru’s diplomatic letter concerning the alleged spying by Chile.
Bilateral relations between Peru and Chile were shaken last week as news broke that three Peruvian navy officers were under investigation for having allegedly spied for Chile between 2005 and 2012. Peru’s Minister of Defense confirmed that the officials were arrested and are being investigated by a military court.
“Ambassador Ibarra, our ambassador in Lima, is currently enjoying a legal vacation in Chile, we are going to keep him in Chile for consultations precisely so he can help prepare the (diplomatic) response to the Peruvian diplomatic letter,” said Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz.
Clouding the issue, via Nextgov:
DOD Wants Physical Separation for Classified Data in the Cloud … For Now
The Defense Department’s evolving cloud strategy and recently updated security requirements govern how commercial cloud service providers can — and in some cases, have already begun to — host some the Pentagon’s most sensitive data.
But the Pentagon isn’t ready yet for classified information to be stored off-premise in the cloud.
In the immortal words of Olivia Newton-John, DOD wants to get physical with classified data that ends up in the cloud, meaning it wants “physical separation” between systems with classified workloads and that of other systems.
From the New York Times, wink, wink:
Chip Maker to Investigate Claims of Hacking by N.S.A. and British Spy Agencies
Gemalto, a French-Dutch digital security company, said on Friday that it was investigating a possible hacking by United States and British intelligence agencies that may have given them access to worldwide mobile phone communications.
The investigation follows news reports on Thursday that the National Security Agency in the United States and the Government Communications Headquarters in Britain had hacked Gemalto’s networks to steal SIM card encryption codes.
The claims — reported on a website called The Intercept — were based on documents from 2010 provided by Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor.
The Register covers an ongoing hacking embarrassment in Foggy Bottom:
Hellooo, NSA? The US State Department can’t kick hackers out of its networks – report
Email servers still compromised after THREE months
An attack against US State Department servers is still ongoing three months after the agency spotted miscreants inside its email system, it’s reported.
In November the State Department was forced to suspend its unclassified email systems after it was successfully infiltrated by hackers unknown. At the time the agency said its classified emails were unaffected by the hack.
Now Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal report multiple sources saying that the attack is still ongoing: the bad guys and girls still have remote access to internal computers.
Every time sysadmins find and delete a malware infection, installed by the hackers, another variant pops up.
The latest from Nextgov:
EXCLUSIVE: State Department Trashed 30,000 Log-in Key Fobs After Hack
The State Department over the past few months replaced some 30,000 network log-in fobs and digital tokens that employees had been using to access its systems remotely, after the agency’s unclassified network was hacked, according to a department official.
During the switchover, some State personnel said they were not able to access work outside the office for months.
“All of us had to turn them in and go through a very extended procedure of changing every aspect of our internal passwording,” said one foreign service officer. “Every one of us had to create new passwords and new PIN numbers to go along with our fobs. They changed the type of format that you use to create a PIN to make it more secure and they changed the requirements for your basic State Department password to make it more secure.”
After the jump, Android malware fakes a shutout to grab your data, hacking your car wash, Italy scores a win over the Googles, France pleads for anti-terror help from Silicon Valley giants, the big guns pull back in Ukraine’s civil war, Isis suicide bombers claim dozens in Libya as Isis woes in Libya fuel an Italian immigrant panic, hints of Isis schisms, Qatar finds itself on the outs over terror, Turkey leverages border fears to gain intel, on to Boko Haram and an abductee reunion, Boko Haram launches another bloody raid, and France calls for support for an all-African anti-Boko Haram force, Australia proclaims a new anti-terror strategy, China irked by an Indian visit to disputed territory, Myanmar rebels claim a government body count, China’s threat to Western eyes in the sky, on to Japan and a call to unleash the military abroad, Shinzo Abe wants Japanese civilian hands to relinquish defense department control, a decision nears on a Japanese insular deployment, another Japanese insular move sparks a South Korean protest, Japan plans an Iraqi diplomatic expansion, and another base relocation protest. . .
Spoofing malware, via Network World:
Android malware fakes phone shutdown to steal data
Next time you turn off your Android phone, you might want take the battery out just to be certain.
Security vendor AVG has spotted a malicious program that fakes the sequence a user sees when they shut off their phone, giving it freedom to move around on the device and steal data.
When someone presses the power button on a device, a fake dialog box is shown. The malware then mimics the shutdown animation and appears to be off, AVG’s mobile malware research team said in a blog post.
Hacking your car wash, via Threatpost:
‘Yes, Your Car Wash Is On Facebook
When (or if) people think about the security of the devices they interact with and use on a daily basis, the machines that run their local car wash probably aren’t high up on that list. But, like everything else with a computer for a brain these days, those machines are connected to the Internet. And Billy Rios can hack them.
Rios has spent years pulling apart the innards of all kinds of automation equipment, mostly in the ICS and SCADA realms. But now that TVs, parking meters, dishwashers and everything else under the sun comes with an embedded Web server and other potential targets, he has begun having a look at what surprises those devices hold, as well. Looking in one of the more obscure corners of the web, he discovered automated car wash equipment online.
The device he researched has a considerable attack surface. The device was running a version of Windows CE on an ARM processor and after a bit of poking around, Rios found that it also had Telnet enabled and a default five-character password and default username.
Italy scores a win over the Googles, via Network World:
Google agrees to Italian privacy authority audits in the US
Google has agreed to on-the-spot audits at its U.S. headquarters in order to comply with Italy’s data protection laws.
The Italian data protection authority (DPA) imposed several privacy measures on Google after an investigation into the company’s policies that was completed in July 2014. On Friday, the authority said Google will comply with all demands.
The process to verify compliance calls for the DPA to check up on Google’s progress at its U.S. headquarters. It remains unclear when that will happen, though. “There is no precise appointment at the moment but there is an agreement to be able to go there,” a spokesman for the authority said.
France pleads for anti-terror help from Silicon Valley giants, via TheLocal.fr:
France asks Internet giants for anti-terror help
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve met Friday with Apple, Facebook, Google and Twitter to discuss ways to thwart terrorists from using the platforms as stages for propaganda.
“We had frank, rich, deep discussion,” Cazeneuve said during a press conference at the French consulate in San Francisco.
He said his mission was to foster closer relationships with the Silicon Valley titans so online terrorist propaganda could be more swiftly removed or countered with opposing viewpoints.
“We don’t want to have to go through the usual government channels that can take so long; it is important to have direct communication,” Cazeneuve said.
Off to war zones, first with Sky News:
Ukraine Withdraws Heavy Weapons From Frontline
Hours after government troops and separatist rebels exchange prisoners, Ukrainian forces begin to pull back heavy weapons
Ukrainian forces have begun the process of withdrawing heavy weapons from the frontline in agreement with separatist rebels, a military spokesman has confirmed.
However, convoys of armoured vehicles have been tracked entering Ukraine from Russia, and attacks from pro-Russia rebels have been continuing near the village of Shyrokyne, close to Mariupol.
Meanwhile, at least two people have been killed and 15 others wounded after an “unknown explosive device” was thrown from a car in the government-controlled city of Kharkiv.
From the New York Times, Isis suicide bombers claim dozens in Libya:
Islamic State Bombers Kill Dozens in Libyan Suicide Attacks
Islamic State militants unleashed suicide bombings Friday in eastern Libya, killing at least 40 people in what the group said was retaliation for Egyptian airstrikes against the extremists’ aggressive new branch in North Africa.
The bombings in the town of Qubba, which is controlled by Libya’s internationally recognized government, solidified concerns the extremist group has spread beyond the battlefields of Iraq and Syria and established a foothold less than 500 miles from the southern tip of Italy.
The militants have taken over at least two Libyan coastal cities on the Mediterranean — Sirte and Darna, which is about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Qubba. They released a video Sunday that showed the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians who were abducted in Sirte, and Egypt responded Monday with airstrikes on Darna.
Isis woes in Libya fuel an Italian immigrant panic, via TheLocal.it:
Fears of fresh migrant wave amid Libya danger
Fears a fresh wave of migrants could be poised to leave Libya for Europe mounted on Friday as tales from those who have reached Italy revealed how terrifying conditions have become in the conflict-torn north African state.
Asylum-seekers who have made it to the Italian island of Lampedusa paint a grim picture of a country locked into a conflict which is beginning to have an impact on the people-smuggling trade.
“Testimonies confirm that smugglers are increasingly violent with migrants, at the departure points and when they hold them in so called connection houses before their departure, where they wait for days or weeks before embarking,” said Federico Soda, Mediterranean director for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
The IOM interviewed dozens of migrants this week, including a Somali mother whose three-month-old daughter was born in a Libyan connection house, where she spent three months and was regularly abused by traffickers.
From the Associated Press, hints of Isis schisms:
Some signs of tension emerge among Islamic State militants
As the Islamic State group tries to expand and take root across the Middle East, it is struggling in Syria — part of its heartland — where it has stalled or even lost ground while fighting multiple enemies on several fronts.
Signs of tension and power struggles are emerging among the ranks of its foreign fighters.
The extremists remain a formidable force, and the group’s hold on about a third of Iraq and Syria remains firm. But it appears to be on the defensive in Syria for the first time since it swept through the territory last year and is suffering from months of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and the myriad factions fighting it on the ground.
“They are struggling with new challenges that did not exist before,” said Lina Khatib, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut.
Qatar finds itself on the outs over terror, via the New York Times:
Persian Gulf Council Retracts Statement Defending Qatar
The organization of Persian Gulf monarchies on Friday withdrew a statement issued the previous day that defended Qatar against Egyptian allegations of supporting terrorism. The turnabout raised questions about possible discord or confusion within the organization, and about what appeared to be signs of reconciliation after a long dispute over Egypt between Qatar and its neighbors.
The confusion began on Thursday when Abdul Latif al-Zayani, the secretary general of the regional Gulf Cooperation Council, issued a statement admonishing Egypt for accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism. The statement defended Qatar’s contributions to the battle against terrorism and said that Egypt’s allegations, made following a dispute over Egypt’s airstrikes in Libya on Monday, were unhelpful to Arab unity at a critical time.
The statement was disseminated through the official Twitter account of the council’s general secretariat, and it was reported as accurate by state-controlled media outlets in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other gulf states. Several news organizations said the statement had appeared for a time on the council’s website.
Turkey leverages border fears to gain intel, via Sky News:
‘Global Response’ To Secure Turkey-Syria Border
As the search continues for three teens believed to be en route to Syria, Turkey says foreign countries must share intelligence
A senior Turkish official has called on the international community to share more intelligence information to stem the flow of foreigners to Islamic State.
As the search continues for three London schoolgirls believed to be travelling to Syria, Cemalettin Hasimi told Sky News that Turkey cannot be expected to intercept people unless efforts are made to boost the country’s travel blacklist.
“It’s a global problem that requires a global response,” said Mr Hasimi, who advises Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on security and foreign policy.
On to Boko Haram and an abductee reunion from BBC News:
Boko Haram crisis: Nigerian abductees reunited with families
A group of 158 women and children abducted by Boko Haram militants in north-eastern Nigeria in December have been reunited with their families.
They were kidnapped during a raid on Katarko village in Yobe state and spent about a month in captivity.
The circumstances of their release are unclear but they were eventually handed over to the state authorities for counselling and rehabilitation.
Officials said the reunion in the state capital, Damaturu, was jubilant.
Boko Haram launches another bloody raid, via Reuters:
Boko Haram kill 21 in Nigeria near missing girls’ village
Boko Haram militants fleeing a Nigerian army offensive killed 21 people on Friday in attacks near the northern village of Chibok, close to where the rebels abducted more than 200 schoolgirls last year, a military source said.
The rebels were fleeing a land and air offensive to clear them out of the Sambisa forest when they raided the villages of Gatamarwa, Makalama and Layhawul and opened fire on terrified residents, the source said.
Boko Haram fighters in many parts of Nigeria and the region are on the run, after being subjected to a major military offensive on all sides by Nigeria and its neighbours Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
Nigerian warplanes bombarded insurgent training camps and caches of their weapons and vehicles in Sambisa on Thursday.
And France makes a call, via Reuters:
France to press for UN support for Africa force to fight Boko Haram
France will support a bid by the African Union to win the backing of the U.N. Security Council for its five-nation force fighting Islamist militant group Boko Haram, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Sunday.
Fabius spoke on a tour of Chad, Cameroon and Niger, countries that have launched operations against the militants who have killed thousands in a six-year war for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.
“France’s support for the integrated African reaction force is total. France will support a request of the African Union and other concerned countries for a resolution to be voted by the Security Council,” Fabius said in the capital of Niger.
From Xinhua, Australia proclaims a new anti-terror strategy:
Australia announces new counter-terrorism strategy
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced a new national counter-terrorism strategy on Monday as the country enters a “long-term era of heightened terrorism threat.”
In addition to a developed anti-extremism strategy, Australia will appoint a national terrorism coordinator, while the means by which the country’s public alert system changes may be altered.
The announcement followed recommendations into a review, commissioned in August last year, into how Australia deals with potential terrorist threats.
In a speech at the federal police headquarters, Abbott focused primarily on the increased number of Australian foreign fighters returning home and how the federal government will deal with the subsequent dangers.
China irked by an Indian visit to disputed territory, via Reuters:
China protests Modi’s visit to disputed border region
hina said on Friday it had lodged an official protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to a border region claimed by both countries.
China disputes the entire territory of Arunachal Pradesh, calling it south Tibet. Its historic town Tawang, a key site for Tibetan Buddhism, was briefly occupied by Chinese forces during a 1962 war.
“The Chinese government has never recognized the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’,” a statement on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website said on Friday.
It said Modi’s visit was “not conducive to the overall development of bilateral relations”.
Myanmar rebels claim a government body count, via the Guardian:
Burma: 47 soldiers killed in clashes with insurgents
Fighting is a blow to government’s efforts for a ceasefire while China shows alarm over skirmishes near its border
Forty-seven Burmese soldiers have been killed this week in fighting with ethnic minority insurgents near the border with China, the military has said.
The fighting and heavy casualties are a setback for government efforts to forge a nationwide ceasefire and end insurgencies that have bedevilled the country since shortly after its independence in 1948.
The clashes in north-eastern Shan state between the army and a group called the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance army (MNDAA) have alarmed China, which fears an influx of villagers fleeing violence and called this week for peace on the border.
From Want China Times, China’s threat to Western eyes in the sky:
PLA poses risk to Western spy satellites
By destroying one of its own FY-1C weather satellites on Jan. 12 of 2007, China successfully proved that it is on a par with both the United States and Russia in the development of anti-satellite weapons system, according to Russian Military Analysis, a Moscow-based website covering defense issues, in a report on Feb. 13.
The Russian News Agency, also known as TASS, was informed by a source from the Chinese government that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were successful on their third attempt to hit the defunct satellite, located 864 kilometers away from the surface of the Earth. This made China the third nation in the world to be capable of shooting down an enemy satellite after the United States and Russia, but the exercise met with condemnation in the West.
Western nations criticized China’s anti-satellite exercise saying that the debris it created posed a risk to other satellites operating at the same orbit. Chinese media outlets have suggested that Western powers are criticizing China because their intelligence satellites operate at a very similar altitude to the FY-1C.
On to Japan and Kyodo News with a call for unleashing the military abroad:
Gov’t proposes removal of geographical limits to SDF operations
The government proposed Friday in a meeting of two ruling parties that the Self-Defense Forces should be able to operate without geographical restrictions, as Japan seeks to review its legal framework to give them an expanded role abroad.
During the second round of security talks that resumed a week earlier, the government also sounded out the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito party about creating a permanent law to enable the dispatch of SDF personnel overseas to give logistical support to foreign militaries.
Senior lawmakers from the ruling bloc have yet to reach an agreement on an outline of security legislation following a landmark Cabinet decision in July on reworking Japan’s postwar security policy.
A hands off policy, via the Japan Times:
LDP seeks to reduce civilian control of Defense Ministry
A law giving priority to civilians in decision-making at the Defense Ministry is set to be changed, according to sources close to the ministry.
Early next month, ministry officials will submit to the Diet a proposal to revise the law permitting amendments to the decision-making to be amended, the sources said Saturday.
The move could arouse concern over the erosion of civilian control of the military.
From Want China Times, a decision nears on a Japanese insular deployment:
Referendum to decide whether Japan will send troops to E China Sea island
A referendum will be held on Feb. 22 to decide whether the Japan Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF) will be deployed to the island of Yonaguni which is 111 kilometers away from Taiwan and 150 kilometers away from the disputed Diaoyutai (Senkaku or Diaoyu) islands in the East China Sea according to our Chinese-language sister newspaper Want Daily.
Japan began its plan to build a surveillance radar system on the island of Yonaguni back in 2009. The purpose of this radar system was to monitor the activities of the People’s Liberation Army in the East China Sea. However, it also has the ability to capture all flying objects 10,000 meters above Taiwanese airspace. All F-16 fighters based in the Hualien air force base in Eastern Taiwan could therefore be detected on reaching 160 meters in altitude, according to the paper.
With a small airfield on the island, it would take only 12 minutes for fighters of the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) on Yonaguni to reach the Diaoyutai, which is claimed variously by Japan, China and Taiwan. In the event of a war with China in the region, Ryunosuke Megumi, a retired officer of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), encouraged Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to revise the constitution to enable the nation the right to declare war on China if necessary, in a speech he made on Feb. 14.
Another insular deployment, another protest, via Kyodo News:
S. Korea protests Japanese isle ceremony as “provocation”
South Korea on Sunday protested the Japanese government’s sending of a high-level official to represent it at an annual ceremony held in western Japan to press Tokyo’s claim to a pair of South Korean-controlled islets, issuing a statement condemning the move as a “provocation” and calling it “extremely deplorable.”
Noting that it was the third consecutive year for Tokyo to send a high-level representative to attend the annual ceremony, held earlier Sunday in Shimane Prefecture, the Foreign Ministry accused Japan of repeating its “regressive behavior” of denying its history of imperialism and invasion of the Korean Peninsula.
Japan plans an Iraqi diplomatic expansion, via Kyodo News:
Japan to set up office in northern Iraq
Japan is preparing to establish a consulate office in northern Iraq in a bid to improve its ability to protect Japanese nationals and counter terrorism through enhanced information gathering, a government official said Sunday.
The office will be set up in Erbil, the largest city and capital of the Kurdistan autonomous region, with Japanese Foreign Ministry staff stationed. Some countries such as the United States and Britain have consulates general in Erbil.
The Foreign Ministry has temporarily assigned personnel to Erbil since around last June to grasp the situation of extremists in the Middle East, the official said on condition of anonymity.
And another base relocation protest, via NHK WORLD:
Protest against US base relocation plan
Thousands of people rallied in Japan’s southern Okinawa Prefecture against a plan to construct a US base in a coastal area.
Japan’s government plans to relocate the US Marine Corps Futenma Air Station from a densely populated area to a coastal area in Nago City. Preparations are now underway for an offshore drilling survey. It is part of a plan to reclaim land for the new base.
Protesters have been demonstrating outside the gate of US Camp Schwab, which is adjacent to the planned relocation site.
