Peace and Justice for Guam and the Pacific: April 2017

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Father of slain Okinawa woman calls for removal of U.S. military bases

URUMA, Okinawa -- The father of a murdered woman whose killing a year ago led to the arrest of a former U.S. Marine has released a message calling for the removal of U.S. military bases from the island prefecture.

April 28 marked one year since the murder of the 20-year-old woman, who had lived in Uruma. "It's been a year since the incident, but nothing has changed regarding my thoughts for my daughter," the father, whose name is being withheld, said in his message released to the media through an attorney on April 27.

Referring to heinous crimes committed by U.S. military personnel in the prefecture, he wrote, "Those incidents occur because Okinawa hosts U.S. military bases. I want the bases to be removed without further delay, which is the wish of many Okinawa residents as well."

He continued, "Every day I put my hands together thinking about my daughter and pray for the repose of her soul. What we want to tell our daughter now is that we are sorry for the pain and suffering she went through, but that we want her to rest in peace now."

Mass protest decries start of U.S. base work off Okinawa

NAGO, Okinawa Prefecture--Thousands of protesters opposing the relocation of a U.S. military base here rallied on April 29 in their first mass demonstration after the government began offshore land reclamation work earlier in the week.

An estimated 3,000 demonstrators chanted their opposition in front of a gate of the U.S. military's Camp Schwab, near where the base project is under way to transfer the functions of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan, also in the prefecture.

The demonstration comes after the government started reclamation work off the Henoko district of Nago on April 25.

Hundreds protest US base construction in Japan, year after woman killed by US marine

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Tokyo to pay tribute to the memory of a young Japanese woman killed by a US marine a year ago and to protest the relocation of the US base in Okinawa. A separate rally was held in Okinawa prefecture.

The demonstrators in Tokyo marched through the streets holding banners including ones reading, “No base in Okinawa!” The father of the murdered woman also issued a message calling for the removal of the US military bases from the island prefecture, local media report.

"Those incidents occur because Okinawa hosts US military bases. I want the bases to be removed without further delay, which is the wish of many Okinawa residents as well," the man said in his statement.

"I have nothing to say to the defendant. We, the bereaved family, can never forgive him. We tolerate or trust no excuses from him,” he added. At the same time, he expressed his gratitude to all those people who expressed their support and sympathy to his family.

Calvo to military: Not at the expense of Guam’s civilian economy

There are three sectors of an economy: primary, which deals with extraction of raw materials; secondary, which is the manufacturing of raw materials into the finished product; and the tertiary sector that deals with intangible goods and services.

Since we do not mine raw materials, nor do we manufacture raw materials into products to export, Guam’s economy is largely dependent on the tertiary sector, which includes retail, tourism, banking, entertainment, and IT services. These are the factors that drive Guam’s economy.

US military is hammering ISIS so heavily it is running out of bombs

As Donald Trump celebrated his 100 days in power yesterday, US Pacific commander Admiral Harry Harris said so many bombs were being dropped that “we need more”.

It comes as dictator Kim Jong-un defied international pressure to test-fire another missile yesterday, just hours after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that failure to curb his nuclear and ballistic missile programmes could lead to “catastrophic consequences”.

While the US is pushing for harsher sanctions against the police state, President Trump warned a “major, major conflict” was possible as tensions mount.

If he sanctions a regime change, however, it would mean a large-scale war in which the US and South Korea would “throw everything it had”, experts warned last night.

Washington seeks alliances to press imperialist interests in Pacific, Asia

BY TERRY EVANS

As one of Washington’s nuclear submarines docked in Busan, South Korea, April 25, and the U.S. naval force led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson nears Korean waters, the U.S. rulers continue to seek allies to pressure the leaders of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to back off from further nuclear or long-range missile tests. President Donald Trump seeks collaboration with the rulers in Beijing to press Pyongyang and is promoting further United Nations sanctions aimed at punishing working people in North Korea.

Washington’s threats and military maneuvers are not aimed at launching a new war on the Korean Peninsula — though, intended or not, they could precipitate one. They are part of decades of efforts by both Democratic and Republican administrations to come up with a solution that would force North Korea to back down.

Asia-Pacific conference in Philippines calls for end to US gov’t policies targeting Cuban Revolution

BY RON POULSEN
AND JANET ROTH

MANILA, Philippines — “There is a common misconception that, because the United States and Cuba have re-established diplomatic relations, the U.S. economic blockade against Cuba has ended. But it’s still in place,” said Ibete Fernández, Cuba’s ambassador to the Philippines. She was addressing participants in the Eighth Asia-Pacific Regional Conference of Solidarity with Cuba, held here April 8-9.

The 120 delegates from 19 countries discussed how to advance the international campaign demanding that the U.S. government end its economic war and subversive programs against the Cuban Revolution and get out of Guantánamo, Cuban territory occupied by the U.S. military for more than a century.

Later during the conference, Fernández spoke to the victory won in 2014 when Washington freed the remaining three of the five Cuban revolutionaries who had spent up to 16 years in U.S. prisons because of their actions to protect Cuba from violent attacks by U.S.-based counterrevolutionaries.

EDITORIAL: Heavy-handed Tokyo again disregards Okinawa voices

The government on April 25 started building a seawall off the coast of Henoko in the city of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, the planned relocation site of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

The work began in blatant disregard of opposition from the Okinawa prefectural government and many citizens.

Unlike past construction work on land or the placement of flotation devices on the sea, the building of a seawall around the planned reclamation site entails filling the water with massive volumes of rocks and sand. If the work continues, it will be difficult to restore the area to its original state.

The Henoko relocation project has entered a crossroads.

The very principles of our nation’s democracy and local autonomy are being tested.

Gov't crosses line with launch of landfill work for Okinawa base relocation

The government on April 25 started reclaiming land off the Henoko district of the Okinawa Prefecture city of Nago despite protests from the prefecture, as it prepares to relocate U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to the area. The move comes 21 years after Tokyo and Washington agreed to return the air station land in the city of Ginowan to Japanese control.

May 15 will mark the 45th anniversary of the reversion of Okinawa to Japan. The new military facility will be the first major U.S. base for the Japanese government to construct since the 1972 reversion. But forcefully constructing the base will not only damage the natural environment in the landfill area, but could also create a rift of opposition between the central government and Okinawa Prefecture that cannot be closed.

In a news conference at the Okinawa Prefectural Government headquarters, an angered Okinawa Gov. Takeshi Onaga heavily criticized the government's move.

Start of U.S. military base construction work in Henoko triggers protest by locals

NAGO, Okinawa -- More than 100 people took part in a protest here in the morning on April 26 to oppose the start of reclamation work the previous day for a U.S. military base at Henoko that will replace the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the city of Ginowan.

Banners with messages such as "We must not lose" could be seen at the protest, reflecting the angry mood of local residents.

With occasional showers overhead, the protesting residents kicked off their sit-down demonstration from about 7:30 a.m. on April 26 dressed in waterproof coats. The location of their protest was deliberately chosen as the area in front of Camp Schwab in Henoko, with the intention of trying to block any construction-related vehicles from approaching the building site.

Just ‘An Island in the Pacific’: How Washington Demeans Its Colonial Conquests

From Hawaii to Okinawa, Pacific islands seem relegated to serve as neverland vacation getaways — as well as outposts for our military empire.

By Jon Letman, April 26, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently earned a news cycle’s worth of negative press after an interview in which he seemed to dismiss the entire state of Hawaii, where a federal judge earlier this year blocked the Trump administration’s ban on refugees and on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries.

“I really am amazed,” Sessions complained, “that a judge sitting on an island in the Pacific can issue an order that stops the president of the United States from what appears to be clearly his statutory and constitutional power.”

Sessions’ comments were widely seen as ignorant and arrogant, dismissing U.S. federal district judge Derrick Watson and the “island in the Pacific” on which he sits. Hawaii’s Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz were quick to fire back on Twitter, with Schatz reminding Sessions that that island is called Oahu, and it happens to be part of a U.S. state.

US test-fires ICBM traveling 4,000 miles to South Pacific

The U.S. Air Force test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile which traveled over 4,000 miles before splashing down in the South Pacific after launching early Wednesday from a base in California.

NORTH KOREA THREAT: EXPERTS PAINT DARK PICTURE OF WHAT FALLOUT OF PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE COULD BE

The nuclear-capable missile was unarmed, according to the Air Force, and comes amid increasing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The Minuteman III missile blasted off at 12:03 a.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Pacific military leader concerned about North Korea’s missile threat to Hawaii

Does Hawaii face a nuclear missile threat from North Korea?

The top U.S. commander in the Pacific says yes.

During a House Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill, Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., U.S. Pacific Command, said Hawaii may not be fully protected.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D, Hawaii, raised the question: “Given Hawaii is home to your headquarters, how do you characterize the threat of North Korea specifically to Hawaii and how confident are you in our current BMD (ballistic missile defense) capabilities against that threat?”

“I am concerned about it,” he replied. “I believe that that our ballistic missile architecture is sufficient to protect Hawaii today, but it can be overwhelmed and you know if, if Kim Jong-un or someone else launched ballistic missiles, ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles) against the United States, someone would have to make a decision on which ones to take out or not. So that’s a difficult decision.

Top commander in Pacific: US needs to strengthen missile defense

The top U.S. military commander in the Pacific told lawmakers on Wednesday that the country needs to do more to bolster its missile defense systems amid heightened concerns over North Korea's rapidly advancing weapon program.

"I believe that across the range of integrated air missile defense – IAMD – that we can and need to do more," Adm. Harry Harris, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said at a House Armed Services Committee hearing.

Harris said the U.S. could improve on the number of radar and interceptors — defense systems designed to take out incoming missiles — particularly in Hawaii. The U.S. currently has interceptors in California and Alaska.

While current systems are currently sufficient to protect against an attack by North Korea, he said, they could eventually become overwhelmed.

'If it flies, it will die': Pacific commander says the US can knock down anything North Korea fires

Ahead of an extraordinary White House briefing for senators, close ally South Korea on Wednesday started installing key parts of a contentious U.S. defense system against missiles from North Korea. And America's Pacific commander said any North Korean missile fired at U.S. forces would be destroyed.

"If it flies, it will die," Adm. Harry Harris Jr., told Congress.

South Korea's trumpeting of progress in setting up the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, comes as high-powered U.S. military vessels converge on the Korean Peninsula and as a combative North Korea signals possible nuclear and missile testing. Harris said the THAAD would be operational within days.

North Korea conducted live-fire artillery drills on Tuesday, the 85th anniversary of the founding of its million-person Korean People's Army. On the same day, a U.S. guided-missile submarine docked in South Korea. The USS Carl Vinson aircraft supercarrier also is headed toward the peninsula for an exercise with South Korea. China, which is urging restraint on all sides, called for the U.S. to halt the maneuvers.

White House briefs US senators on 'very grave threat' from North Korea

The Trump administration is ratcheting up its campaign against North Korea, summoning all 100 US senators to the White House. There, top defence officials declared that defending the US from a possible nuclear attack has become a top priority. However, by the meeting's end, a number of senators seemed bewildered, saying they still didn't know what the White House's policy on North Korea was, and that the briefing lacked straight answers. The unusual classified gathering came after the top US military officer in the Pacific said the Pentagon needed to consider deploying new anti-ballistic missile systems and a defensive radar to Hawaii to protect that island state against a growing threat from North Korea.

"Kim Jong Un is clearly in a position to threaten Hawaii today, in my opinion," Admiral Harry Harris, the chief of US Pacific Command, told the House Armed Services Committee. "I have suggested that we consider putting interceptors in Hawaii that ... defend (it) directly, and that we look at a defensive Hawaii radar."

H2B approvals at 0 percent; only 139 workers left on Guam

Contrary to some critics, Department of Labor's Greg Massey says Guam does have a strong core construction workforce.

Guam - The approval rating for H2B workers is now down to 0 percent. That according to Department of Labor’s Administrator of Alien Labor Processing Greg Massey who says with no approvals since last year, the number of H2B workers on Guam has dwindled down to just 139. And with numbers that low, experts point out that it’s not just the Guam economy that could be affected but the nation’s defense as well.

Two experts who have been following the labor shortage crisis on Guam closely addressed members of the business community today for the Chamber of Commerce general membership meeting. Both provided an update, painting a grim picture of Guam’s future economy and the risks in our military defense strategies if this labor crisis continues.

The 100 percent denials has created a sense of panic in the business and construction industry as construction projects are put on hold with many construction companies on the brink of shutting down. Even Governor Calvo proclaimed that he would no longer support the military buildup as long as H2B visas continue to be denied.

U.S. military helicopter crashes near Guam

Hagatna, #Guam, is the new crash site where a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed. The #MH-60R Seahawk is part of Marine Strike Squadron 78. The USS Dewey rescued the crew who are not injured. The crash is still under investigation.

Just last week, an aircraft crashed on a golf course in Maryland. The crew member was severely injured, and it caused damage to local civilian populated areas. Now this week in Guam, an MH60R crashed and was recovered by the USS Dewey.

The USS Dewey is a guided-missile destroyer that is deployed as part of Sterett-Dewey Surface Action Group. The destroyer is headed to the “Western Pacific.”.

Lawyer: Feds may be singling out Guam on H-2B visa issue

In an address at the Guam Chamber of Commerce's general membership Wednesday, attorney Melinda Swavely described a "disturbing development" in the struggle between Guam and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services over H-2B temporary worker visas.

Swavely said based on conferences between the government of Guam and USCIS, it appears Guam may be being singled out because the federal government feels Guam has overused the program.

"It seems that they are looking at Guam differently than other jurisdictions," Swavely said. "That may be why we're getting a zero-percent approval rate."

That development is all the more reason to continue pressing forward with litigation, Swavely said.

Opinion: America's next war?

According to a recent NBC/Survey Monkey poll, two thirds of Americans are worried that President Donald Trump will lead the nation into war. In the beginning of Trump's term, most of the discussion centered on military action against Iran or the Islamic State group. Iran and terrorism were the major foreign policy issues in the presidential campaign. American wartime involvement throughout the past generation has been centered in the Persian Gulf or Afghanistan. Adding to this was Trump's stepped up military action in Yemen, and bombings in Syria and Afghanistan. However, given recent events, America's next war may be closer to home.

Military buildup presses on despite concerns over historic properties

Representatives from the Department of Defense, government of Guam and public consultants met Thursday to review progress on the military buildup projects involving historic properties.

The workshop was an open space for participants to share their concerns on plans to preserve the cultural and historic artifacts on Guam, according to Maj. Tim Patrick, public affairs officer of Marine Corps Activity Guam.

The military buildup is expected to relocate 5,000 Marines and their dependents from Okinawa to Guam. About $8.6 billion in federal funds is projected to be spent on the construction of a new base for training facilities, housing and other buildup projects.

The plans are aligned with the 2011 Programmatic Agreement, which sets guidelines as to how the buildup will proceed while considering the impact on cultural and historical lands on Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

U.S. to start moving Okinawa-based marines to Guam in 2024

WASHINGTON – The United States plans to transfer about 4,000 of 19,000 marines stationed in Okinawa Prefecture to Guam over a period from 2024 to 2028, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command said Wednesday.

Adm. Harry Harris told a congressional hearing that “the movement of the bulk of the marines to Guam would occur in the 2024 to 2028 time frame.”

Japan and the U.S. agreed in 2013 to start moving marines from Okinawa to Guam in the first half of the 2020s as part of efforts to reduce its footprint on the prefecture, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military bases in Japan.

But the transfer is effectively tied to the relocation plan for Marine Corps Air Station Futenma within Okinawa, a contentious project that is supposed to lead to the base’s closure and the return of its land to Japan. The plan is fiercely opposed by residents who want the base moved outside the prefecture.

April 28: A day of pain, separation for many Okinawans

ONNA, Okinawa Prefecture--A year has passed since a Japanese woman was allegedly abducted and killed by a former U.S. service member in Okinawa Prefecture on April 28, 2016, stoking local anger and grief.

People still lay flowers and fruit on a stand at the site in Onna in the prefecture where her body was found.

Also on April 28, in 1952, the San Francisco Peace Treaty took effect, restoring Japan's sovereignty apart from the island chains of Okinawa, Amami and Ogasawara.

Because of the separation, people in the prefecture call the day “Kutsujoku no hi” (Day of humiliation).

Sexual harassment, cyber bullying continue to roil Marine Corps

About two months after a sexual harassment and cyber bullying scandal first rocked the Marine Corps, those issues continued to buffet the service Thursday. At the Marine boot camp in San Diego, officials were working with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service to track down a man who allegedly used sexually graphic language to demean a female veteran online.

The suspect had identified himself as a Marine corporal on his Facebook page. In Oceanside, civil rights attorney Gloria Allred held a news conference with two victims of the original scandal to accuse Pentagon and congressional leaders of conducting a weak investigation into the misconduct. She also asserted that military commanders were attempting a face-saving effort instead of instituting significant reforms.

Allred said she convened the news conference in the shadow of Camp Pendleton to prod Gen. Robert Neller, the Marine Corps commandant, to press for more changes — and to do so more quickly. Neller visited the sprawling base Thursday.

North Korea missile test

Donald Trump has condemned North Korea for “disrespecting the wishes of China” after Pyongyang test-fired a ballistic missile despite rising tensions in the region.

The unsuccessful test comes as the United States pushed for tougher sanctions to curb the country’s nuclear threat. Writing on Twitter, the US president said Pyongyang had defied Chinese president Xi Jinping by going ahead with the launch.

South Korea’s military said the test of the missile took place near Bukchang in South Pyeongan Province early on Saturday morning.

Japan, US Conduct Military Maneuvers in Pacific Ocean

Tokyo, Apr 29 (Prensa Latina) - Japan''s Defense Minister Tomomi Inada confirmed Tuesday that her country has made further military maneuvers with the United States in the Pacific Ocean, under the argument of demonstrating its commitment to stability in the region.

The combat exercise was carried out east of Okinawa prefecture and involved two Japanese F-15 fighters with two of the US Navy.

These last fighters planes were launched by the nuclear propulsion aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson.

The four planes lined up in the air and checked the radio communication.

US admiral says N. Korea crisis is at worst point he's seen

WASHINGTON — The senior U.S. Navy officer overseeing military operations in the Pacific said Thursday that the crisis with North Korea is at the worst point he's ever seen, but he declined to compare the situation to the Cuban missile crisis decades ago.

"It's real," Adm. Harry Harris Jr., commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Harris said he has no doubt that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un intends to fulfill his pursuit of a nuclear-tipped missile capable of striking the United States. The admiral acknowledged there's uncertainty within U.S. intelligence agencies over how far along North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are. But Harris said it's not a matter of if but when.

Amid protests, work starts in Okinawa for U.S. military base

NAGO, Okinawa Prefecture--Land reclamation work began here April 25 for a new U.S. military base, inducing a sense of helplessness followed by anger among protesters and Okinawa prefectural officials.

“This is a very strong-armed tactic that appears to totally ignore the voices from Okinawa,” said Katsuhiro Yoshida, the policy coordination official for the prefectural government who handles military base issues.

The central government plans to fill the waters around the Henoko district of Nago with stones, sand and dirt for the eventual construction of a runway for the U.S. military.

The base will take over the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, currently located in a heavily populated area of Ginowan in central Okinawa Prefecture.

McCain wants a European-style US military buildup in Asia

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Tuesday called for the Trump administration to launch a new U.S. military deterrence initiative in the Asia-Pacific region, similar to what is already being done in Europe, as a counterweight to China.

The administration could chart a new course with an initiative that includes new military funding to realign U.S. forces in the region, increase combat power, improve bases and add more exercises, McCain said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

"I believe there is strong merit for an Asia-Pacific stability initiative which is similar to the European deterrence initiative we've pursued over the last few years," he said.

By Mike Head
26 April 2017

While demanding that North Korea halt its nuclear and missile tests—and threatening military attack if it does not—the Trump administration will today test launch a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from California across the Pacific, in a menacing show of force.

According to Air Force Global Strike Command, the operation will test the weapon’s “effectiveness, accuracy and readiness.” In the context of the mounting US military pressure on North Korea and its neighbour China, it is an unmistakeable threat of American preparedness to use nuclear-armed ICBMs.

Missile launches were “essential to verify the status of our national nuclear force and to demonstrate our national nuclear capabilities,” Colonel Chris Moss, the Vandenberg Air Force Base 30th Space Wing commander said.

Adm. Harry Harris, the military's hard-line commander in the Pacific, comes to Capitol Hill

The four-star commander of all U.S. forces in the Pacific doesn't think twice about standing in line at Subway and buying his own sandwich.

PACOM staffers are occasionally amazed to see Adm. Harry Harris, one of the most powerful officers in the military, waiting in line with them for lunch at the cafeteria, especially for a man who comes from the hierarchical, rank-has-its-privileges tradition of the Navy, where even the most junior officers are waited on by enlisted sailors at meal times.

But people who have worked with Harris say that's consistent with the officer they know. A likable and outgoing man who trusts his staff and will go out of his way to show loyalty, Harris, they say, delegates to his subordinates but knows when to step in and provide guidance. And, despite garnering a reputation for bellicose rhetoric, those who have served with him say he is a remarkably discrete man who knows when to push and when to keep quiet.

Yet Harris has also developed a reputation for occasionally going too far to advance his views. During the last two years of the Obama administration, he pushed a more hard-line view of Chinese island building in the South China Sea, and has at times pushed harder than some in the previous White House were comfortable with.

Opinion: US should rethink costly migrant aid in the West Pacific

BY MALIA BLOM HILL, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 04/25/17 11:40 AM EDT
Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/330276-us-should-rethink-cofa-aid-in-the-west-pacific

As comprehensive policy failures go, it may be the best-kept secret in Washington, D.C.

The Compact of Free Association (COFA) provides special privileges and benefits to the people of Micronesia in exchange for access by the United States military to the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. The deal includes the U.S. sending about$230 million in foreign aid every year to help the approximately 200,000 people of the Western Pacific region.

The result of all that aid money?

Air Force: Mechanical Failures Led to B-52 Aborted Takeoff in Guam

Stars and Stripes | 25 Apr 2017 | by Alex Horton

SAN ANTONIO -- A B-52H Stratofortress was destroyed in Guam last year in a fire shortly after an aborted takeoff due to mechanical failures and the possibility that bird strikes might have damaged the engines of the aircraft as it sped down the runway, an Air Force investigation has concluded.

One of the seven crew members sustained minor injuries in the incident, which began when the engines experienced thrust failure as the plane took off during a routine training mission at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, an Accident Investigation Board from the Air Force Global Strike Command concluded last week.

The investigators concluded pilot error did not contribute to the incident on May 19, 2016, which resulted in a fire and complete destruction of the aircraft worth $112 million.

Workshop to detail buildup's progress on historic lands

Progress on the Programmatic Agreement dealing with the military buildup on Guam will be discussed Thursday in a Joint Region Marianas workshop at the Guam Museum in Hagåtña.

The Department of Defense will meet with government of Guam officials and representatives from Guam’s State Historic Preservation Office to share updates on what has been done since the 2011 signing of the agreement.

Everyone can catch up on what’s been happening in relation to the buildup, according to Al Borja, environmental director for Marine Corps Activity Guam.

The Programmatic Agreement sets guidelines as to how the buildup will proceed, while taking into consideration cultural and historical properties on Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas that may be affected.

Webber: Rota could benefit from buildup

The island of Rota, resting quietly 50-plus miles slightly northeast of Guam, is an idyllic location for anyone who has taken the time to go there.

Quiet and generally empty beaches, a slow and easy pace of life, superb scuba diving opportunities, a great aviary, farms and much more awaits visitors. That said, the tourism perspectives for this sleepy paradise have historically been somewhat limited.

Rota is our closest neighbor in the CNMI and can actually be seen from Guam. Heretofore we have not seen or heard of any significant mention of Rota as it relates to the long impending military buildup involved in the Pacific shift.

Maybe that should change.

Bordallo seeking permanent solution to Guam’s labor problem

HAGÅTÑA — While seeking immediate relief for Guam’s acute labor shortage, U.S. Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo said she is preparing a proposal that would provide a permanent solution to the island’s recurring manpower deficit.

“I will introduce legislation to carve out a unique immigration program for Guam, to provide a long-term solution to our labor needs,” Bordallo said in her congressional address on Wednesday. “This is a long-term goal because it would need to be part of any comprehensive immigration reform that may be revisited by Congress.”

Without elaborating on the details, Bordallo said her pending legislation would “address the labor deficiencies that are affecting industries outside of the military, including civilian construction and maintenance, health care and hospitality.”

She admits her yet-to-be introduced legislation would again face rough sailing in the Republican-controlled Congress especially with President Donald Trump’s “Buy American Hire American” policy.

'Don't Mess With Us,' North Korea Says as U.S. Plans Next Move

(SEOUL) — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States was looking at ways to pressure North Korea over its nuclear program as North Korean state media warned the Americans of a “super-mighty preemptive strike”, saying don't “mess with us.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a hard line with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has rebuffed admonitions from sole major ally China and proceeded with nuclear and missile programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Reclusive North Korea regularly threatens to destroy Japan, South Korea and the United States and has shown no let-up in its belligerence after a failed missile test on Sunday, a day after putting on a huge display of missiles at a parade in Pyongyang.

US Strike Force Delay Complicates North Korea Policy

SEOUL — Analysts say confusing or deceptive messages about a U.S. naval “armada” heading to waters off the Korean peninsula undermines the United States’ credible threat of military force against North Korea.

The White House and the U.S. military’s Pacific Command were not quite accurate in early April when they said the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier group was en route to the Sea of Japan to respond if needed to a North Korean provocation. The naval strike force is still far south in the Indian Ocean, where it was engaged in training exercises with Australia. The Pacific Command said on Tuesday the strike group will now proceed to the Western Pacific as ordered.

The earlier reports of the U.S. carrier group moving toward Korea raised concerns that Trump might launch a unilateral military strike to prevent or retaliate against a possible North Korean nuclear test on April 15, the birthday of the nation’s founder Kim Il Sung, that is often celebrated by a provocative weapons test.

Letter: Who are the real Okinawa traitors?

The other day, in Naha’s Omoromachi district, I encountered a right-winger loudspeaker truck blaring out an anti-China message with the Rising Sun and Stars and Stripes hoisted on both sides of the vehicle. The flags clearly show that Japan’s right-wingers identify themselves with the U.S.

Does the U.S. establishment likewise identify themselves with these Japanese chauvinists? Probably. The Japan-U.S. alliance is based on this makeshift friendship and feeling of solidarity. Naturally, Japanese right-wingers are the most ardent supporters of the U.S. military presence in Japan in general and the Henoko relocation in Okinawa in particular, often jeering at anti-base, anti-Henoko demonstrators by calling them traitors.

But who are the traitors here? These right-wingers don’t understand, or try not to, that the U.S. military presence is no different from the post-World War II Occupation, still occupying so much space on the land, at sea and in the air. They don’t understand, or try not to, that the Henoko relocation means the perpetuation of the status quo of Okinawa as a permanent U.S. military colony.

While the US Navy continues to beef up its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Pacific Fleet is by no means sitting on its hands, Russian military expert Viktor Murakhovsky told RIA Novosti, unveiling how the Russian Navy may respond to the assertive US military strategy in the region.

Exactly 85 years ago today, on April 21, 1932, the Soviet Pacific Fleet was established; today the Russian fleet that eventually succeeded it is preparing for new military challenges and flexing its muscles.

Although the Russian Navy in the Pacific still has many problems to solve, it enjoys significant advantages over any potential adversary in the region.

Interestingly, since the beginning of 2017, the Russian Pacific has caught up with the Northern and Black Sea Fleets in terms of the number of references to it in the media.

Pyongyang threatens ‘super-mighty preemptive strike’ as U.S. plots next move

SEOUL – North Korean state media warned the United States of a “super-mighty preemptive strike” after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States was looking at ways to bring pressure to bear on North Korea over its nuclear program.

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, did not mince its words.

US, Singapore to Launch New Military Exercise in Guam

Singapore and the United States will hold a new bilateral naval exercise in Guam in August, a top U.S. navy official said last week.

Don Gabrielson, Commander of the Logistics Group Western Pacific – the Seventh Fleet’s principal logistics agent and bilateral exercise coordinator for Southeast Asia – told The Straits Times on April 12 that the first-of-its-kind exercise, code-named Pacific Griffin, would be held over two weeks in the waters off the U.S. island territory.

“That is a higher-end exercise, and we are looking at a number of opportunities for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) to exercise their live-firing capabilities,” Rear Admiral Gabrielson said in an interview at a U.S. Navy office at Sembawang Wharves. “I am highly confident it is going to meet the RSN’s needs to hone their skills out at sea.”

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Saturday, April 29, 2017

By Mike Head 26 April 2017

While the US Navy continues to beef up its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Pacific Fleet is by no means sitting on its hands, Russian military expert Viktor Murakhovsky told RIA Novosti, unveiling how the Russian Navy may respond to the assertive US military strategy in the region.

By Mike Head
26 April 2017