President Wesley Simina said the United States is considering military projects across the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) as it moves forward with a $400 million airport upgrade plan to strengthen defenses in the Pacific. .
The region has become increasingly strategically important to the United States amid a contest for influence with China.
FSM is A key part of the US Indo-Pacific strategy The aim is to counter the Chinese government in the region. The agreement between the United States and the FSM, known as the Compact of Free Association (Cofa), gives the FSM funding and support while giving the United States exclusive defense rights against the Pacific nation.
“The Federated States of Micronesia is open to U.S. consideration of all types of defense-related activities, including territorial and maritime uses,” Simina said.
The airport renovation will take place on the island of Yap, one of the four states that make up the FSM. Washington’s plan was made public in the budget released last month.
Simina, speaking to the Guardian as part of a series of interviews with Pacific leaders, said the US was also considering “other types of projects” in Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. .
“But for now, they have not yet been revealed,” he said.
Simina said the United States is “very advanced in planning for the use of weapons.” [the] They will be deployed to Yap’s airport area, and more military exercises will also be conducted from the island.
“We know they want to expand it. They want to set up various infrastructure there to support military operations in Japan,” he said. Ta.
Katherine Koenig, spokeswoman for the Marianas Joint Regional Mission, which manages U.S. military operations in parts of the Pacific region, said the fiscal year 2025 budget proposal includes $400 million to develop an airport and port on Yap Island. He said there was.
“This project includes extending the runway to allow larger aircraft to take off and land in support of training operations and humanitarian missions at Yap Airport,” Koenig said.
If approved by Congress, an initial investment of $96 million would be proposed in 2025, he said.
Other U.S. military facilities in the Pacific include Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps bases in Guam and an Army base in the Marshall Islands.
The U.S. Air Force said in its budget proposal that the FSM and Yap Island are “strategically located” in the Western Pacific.
“The development of Yap Airport is essential as there are few repurposed or emergency airfields in the region that could be used as a potential U.S. defense base,” the U.S. Air Force said.
Michael Walsh, an affiliate researcher at the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Research Center, said the US was looking to expand its air base in the region to add “complexity” to operations.
“This increased complexity is expected to make it much more difficult for adversaries to accurately predict how U.S. forces will respond in the event of an event.” [any military challenges]”, he said, citing attacks on the United States and defense of Taiwan as examples.
The 15-mile-long island of Yap will also be part of increased U.S. military exercises in the Pacific region. Training opportunities were discussed during a March meeting between Simina and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington.
austin He said they discussed “new opportunities for defense posture cooperation between the two countries.”
Simina said he was working with the U.S. Department of Defense and Department of the Air Force on the details of the exercise. “At this time, we are not aware of the specific number of exercises that take place on Yap each year or month,” Simina said.
In August 2023, the Micronesian government announced plans for the U.S. Air Force to deploy “air defense assets” to Yap Island. However, details have not been made public.
“The United States will have to notify us.” [about any defence assets]” said Simina.
The economic provisions of the Cofa agreement were recently updated and the FSM will receive $140 million annually from the United States for the next 20 years.
Yap residents have been “very accepting and supportive” of defense development, Simina said. “Obviously, there may be concerns here and there, especially on the environmental side. But the Pentagon is very aware of that.”
