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Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero said missile testing and the placement of nuclear weapons on U.S. territory is a way to deter aggression.
photo: Facebook / Andersen Air Force Base, Guam
A Northern Mariana Islands indigenous advocacy group is opposing Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero’s stance on the use of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles on Guam.
She added that amid ongoing nuclear threats in the Asia-Pacific region, U.S. territories have no choice but to defend themselves.
Our Commonwealth 670 said it found the situation disturbing given the Commonwealth’s historical opposition to the introduction of nuclear storage and nuclear waste, and the fact that Rota, the southernmost island of the Commonwealth, is located 90 kilometers north of Guam.
Our Common Wealth 670 said it urged all government officials to convey the message that nuclear weapons cannot bring peace to war-torn regions.
The group said the idea of hiding weapons as a peaceful deterrence strategy was unsustainable.
“As a community organization dedicated to protecting our islands, oceans, and communities from irreparable damage caused by harmful developments such as militarization, we write with urgency and serious concern to urge government officials to continue to support the voice of our people and speak out against the introduction of nuclear weapons, stockpiles, and waste in our region, let alone in the Marianas and surrounding waters.”
The report added that as islanders, they believe that despite the distance between islands, the land and sea are closely connected to each other.
The group also mentioned Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands and Mururoa Island in Tahiti, scars left by the nuclear age and subsequent nuclear testing.
“Inviting Guam to use nuclear power goes against the islanders’ history of resistance to such dangerous technology, including anti-nuclear movements such as the Free and Independent Nuclear Pacific.
“We also find this alarming given the history of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, French Polynesia and other Pacific islands.”
U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.
photo: RNZ Pacific/Eleisha Foon
“Using weapons as a peaceful deterrence strategy is unsustainable”
Our Common Wealth 670 believes that through legislation and community practices that promote an equitable and nuclear-free zone, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands can serve as an environmental beacon throughout the Pacific.
“Our elders have historically advocated for a clean, healthy environment, and we want to preserve that wisdom for future generations,” the group said.
“We would like to highlight and quote Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands, which reads: ‘Section 9: Clean and Healthy Environment – Everyone has the right to a clean and healthy public environment in all areas, including land, air, and water. Harmful and unnecessary noise pollution, the storage of nuclear or radioactive materials, and the dumping or storage of nuclear waste of any type on land or under water in the Northern Mariana Islands are prohibited unless otherwise provided by law.'”
Our Common Wealth 670 said this constitutional provision empowers the CNMI government to object to the Pentagon and the Territory of Guam’s plans to store nuclear weapons so close to the CNMI.
“We implore you and your government to condemn and oppose efforts to bring nuclear weapons and nuclear materials into our region. The idea of hiding weapons as a peaceful deterrent strategy is not sustainable.”
It added that Pacific Islanders aim for disarmament, not more nuclear weapons, and envision a world where conflicts and geopolitical tensions are resolved through diplomacy and real security, a term coined by the International Women’s Network Against Militarism.
Our Common Wealth 670 also stated that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Legislature passed House Joint Resolution 22-11 in 2017 Japan to release treated nuclear waste water into Pacific Ocean In 2022, clarify the federal government’s position on nuclear weapons and waste disposal.
The resolution states that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Legislature “opposes any government action related to nuclear testing, storage, and waste disposal in the Pacific Ocean and reaffirms the fundamental right of every person to a safe and healthy living environment.”
Our Common Wealth 670 said that as a community committed to protecting the Commonwealth lands of the CNMI, it once again urged all government officials to convey the message that nuclear weapons cannot bring peace to a war-torn region.
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