The complex and troubled relationship between the U.S. military and Okinawa took a turn for the worse this week.

The triggering incident was distressingly familiar: An American serviceman charged with raping an Okinawan child. In this case, a Marine staff sergeant allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl he picked up on Sunday. He denied the charge, saying only that he forcibly kissed her, according to Okinawa police.

But Okinawans haven't forgotten the gang-rape of a 12-year-old girl by U.S. servicemen in 1995. That incident touched off huge protests and a diplomatic nightmare that still casts a pall over U.S.-Japan military relations.

So it's not surprising that Sunday's incident resulted in a full-scale response: The U.S. Ambassador, Thomas Schieffer, flew to Naha to express his regrets personally, and a "stand-down" was ordered for all Marines on Okinawa and mainland Japan for ethics and leadership training, according to Stars & Stripes.

Those are appropriate first steps. The necessary way forward includes more intense diplomatic reassurances, backed up with convincing actions that improve discipline and training among the ranks.

Okinawa's proximity to Southeast Asia gives it strategic importance beyond the Japanese mainland. About half of all U.S. troops in Japan are stationed there; 75 percent of Japan's land in U.S. military use is on Okinawa.

The two allies are currently negotiating a major realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. Those talks must be conducted dispassionately, guided by mutual self-interest and trust, taking into account the disproportionate security burden that Okinawa carries. That's why the handling of this latest case must be open, honest, thorough and fair. The child and her family, and the Okinawan people, deserve no less.