冷战时期，琉球群岛是美军在海外最大的化学武器储备基地。琉球群岛美军基地化学武器泄露事件，是在美日返还琉球群岛施政权谈判、尼克松政府制定美国对化学武器的政策这种双重背景下出现的。尼克松政府立即决定将琉球群岛化学武器转运到美国境内储存，遭到美国国会部分议员和俄勒冈州、华盛顿州地方政府的强烈抵制。在返还琉球群岛施政权谈判中，尼克松政府处理化学武器问题的方式与核武器问题截然相反，既没有寻求重新部署权也没有要求财政补偿。这种处理方式，不仅在美国《国家安全决定备忘录第35号》文件中被确定下来，而且成为尼克松政府处理联邦德国美军基地化学武器问题的范例。美国国会通过的《军事采购法1970-1971年》，在国家法律制度上严格限制了五角大楼在研制、储备、运输、试验、采购致命性化学武器方面的权力。

The Ryukyu Islands were the largest U.S. overseas military base of chemical weapons storage during the Cold War. Ryukyu Islands Chemical Weapons Leak Incident occurred under the dual background of the U.S.-Japan negotiation on the Administrative Power of Ryukyu Islands Reversion and the Nixon Administration's formulation of the U.S. Policy on Chemical Weapons. The Nixon Administration immediately directed the removal of lethal chemical munitions from Ryukyu Islands to CONUS for the redeploy. This was strongly resisted by some members of the U.S. Congress and local governments in Oregon and Washington. The Nixon Administration's approach to dealing with chemical weapons issue was very different from the nuclear weapons issue during the negotiation on the Ryukyu Islands Reversion, neither seeking the right to redeploy chemical weapons nor requiring financial compensation. Such practice was not only determined in NSDM 35, but also was an example of dealing with chemical weapons at the U.S. Military Base in Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The Military Procurement Act of FY1970 and FY1971 passed by the U.S. Congress has strictly restricted the Pentagon's authority in the research, storage, transportation, testing and procurement of lethal chemical weapons in national legal system.