February 18, 2007	Sunday	Muharram 29, 1428

KADENA (Japan), Feb 17: Two US air force F-22A stealth fighters flew into the southern Japan island of Okinawa on Saturday in the first overseas deployment of the aircraft, witnesses said.

The fighters touched down at the US Kadena air force base on the main Okinawan island, strategically located in the East China Sea within striking distance of China and the Korean peninsula, an AFP photographer said.

Ten more F-22A Raptors from the Langley air base in Virginia were expected to arrive here on Sunday via Hawaii, according to press reports.

The deployment has caused protests from North Korea, which says the US military is beefing up its regional strength, and some residents on the southern island that is host to half of the US troops in Japan.

The arrival had been delayed by seven days due to bad weather and minor software hitches, according to the US military.

The military has denied a Japanese newspaper report that the deployment was held up so as not to interfere with negotiations with North Korea, which agreed on Tuesday in Beijing to a deal to shut down key nuclear facilities.

“This F-22 deployment is the latest example of the flexibility that US forces have to meet our ongoing commitments and security obligations throughout the Pacific region by maintaining a flexible and credible presence,” the Air Force said in a statement.—AFP