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Pago Pago, American Samoa— The U.S. plan to expand and strengthen its military presence in Guam has attracted close attention from geopolitical observers as the Western world’s leader seeks to bolster its defenses against hostile enemies.
But for ordinary people living in this American territory – which locals jokingly call “draft paradise” – geopolitics is the least of their concerns.
For Guam residents and the local Chamorro people, who are landowners and veterans, the news that the United States is moving forward with missile testing on the island to bolster its military capabilities can only “raise suspicion … because something is not right.”
The federal government spent $8.7 billion on the missile testing system, which critics in Washington described as an arms race with China.
Starting last December, the United States will conduct long-range missile tests twice a year in Guam for a decade.
In addition, 5,000 soldiers will be transferred from Okinawa, Japan to Camp Blaise in Guam by the end of this year.
It is part of a Pentagon plan, led by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), to build a defensive shield known as a 360-degree defense system to protect Guam.
“It’s horrible in today’s world that under the flag of a country that is supposed to represent noble democratic ideals, we are the spearhead of the United States,” Chamaro historian Dr Michael Bevacqua told Radio New Zealand Pacific.
“It is the opposite of democratic participation that fundamental decisions about the safety of our families and children, the security of our islands, whether we are targeted, can be made without our consent,” he lamented. “It is frustrating, it is terrifying.”
However, the Missile Defense Agency has a different view, saying the defense system is comparable to Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.
“We talk about launching missiles to stop a bad missile filled with explosives or something from hitting the island,” explained Mark Wright, the agency’s public affairs officer.
“Of course, this is an unexpected situation, but this is the most remote part of the United States and it needs to be protected.”
But Guamans know firsthand that living with the military comes at a cost.
Military activity means “drinking water is contaminated, housing is under pressure … there are more military aircraft (on the island) than birds, and the threat of missile attacks is as common as party invitations,” Bevacqua said.
Striking a balance
The United States owns 30 percent of Guam. Three bases for the Navy, Army and Air Force are located here. Chamorro activists say it is a “highly militarized reality.”
According to a New Zealand scholar, Washington’s Relations with Guam “It remains unapologetically imperialist – (the United States) uses the arrangement to manage the frictions that inevitably arise in America’s security alliances with sovereign states.”
But the Guam government recognizes that it needs U.S. support and believes that rapid militarization is simply a sign of the times.
Governor Lou Guerrero told RNZ Pacific the move was an effort to strike a balance between working with the U.S. military and the indigenous Chamorro people to “take steps to preserve peace in our islands.”
“I am well aware of the challenges of militarization, but if the United States leaves now, we will be worse off. I certainly don’t want to be ruled by China,” she said.
While the governor believes the U.S. military is protecting them from threats from Beijing, her chief adviser on military and regional affairs, Carlota Guerrero, still finds it hard to accept the escalation.
“Personally, I hate the idea of a 360 missile defense system and what that would mean and what it would look like and what the consequences would be.”
MDA’s Wright said they are working closely with allies such as Japan and Australia on missile defense architecture and systems “to figure out more effective ways to use missile defense to defend our various homelands and islands in the region.”
“We should have more say”
Guam has experienced many conflicts, including Spanish colonization from the 16th to the 18th century and the Pacific War between Japan and the United States during World War II on Guam in the Mariana Islands.
The Chamorro people’s history is fraught with conflict, which partly explains why Chamorros have the highest enlistment rate in the U.S. military.
Although Guam has its own government, the island is subject to the control of the United States federal government and Congress.
People born on Guam are U.S. citizens, but they cannot vote for the president of the United States, and its only senator in Congress is a non-voting member.
While many Guamanians and Chamorros say the United States is their liberator and are “proud to be American citizens,” others see it differently.
Tom Ada, a Guam lawmaker and Chamorro veteran, said that while he is “pro-military,” the lack of information on missile tests and “inconsistencies” in reports provided to the public by the Missile Defense Agency give him reason to be “skeptical.”
“I think we should have more of a say in what the military does here.”
Another veteran, Robert Celestial, founder and president of the Pacific Radiation Survivors Association, Proof that Guam was exposed to nuclear radiation between 1940 and 1960Celestial said the federal government tried to cover up the matter until he found unclassified documents online.
“I think most of us have been indoctrinated since the U.S. Navy occupied Guam. We have been brainwashed.”
Many of his members died of radiation-related cancers, said Celestial, who has fought for more than two decades to get Congress to approve nuclear compensation for which the island has never been eligible. The agreement expired in June and was not extended..
MILITARY BUILDUP ‘UNFIT’
Activists protesting military activity on the island have called for an end to militarization and fear the military presence is doing more harm than good.
Chamorro activist Monaeka Flores ensures the voices of fishermen and landowners are not forgotten.
“The military said there was no damage, no major impact.
“Yet they will ask for restrictions on land and will ask for large numbers of people to come here for military work. This is unreasonable.”
She said Guam is still recovering from the effects of the military presence and nuclear fallout from the 1940s to 1960s.
Flores’s demand is simple: leaders must act.
“Our people don’t even know they are exposed to Agent Orange radiation. So we really have to evaluate this upcoming project because it will cause a lot of harm, and if we haven’t accepted the harm that we still face, how can we foresee more harm?” Flores said.
“The threat of nuclear war is very real,” she said, adding: “Leaders need to engage in diplomacy rather than projecting force in the Pacific, which will only provoke tensions and lead to conflict and war.”
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