Another general visits NMI, views Tinian

A ranking military official—U.S. Army Gen. Leon J. Laporte—came to the Northern Marianas Saturday, conducting an aerial view of Tinian and visiting prepositioned military ships in the Commonwealth.

Laporte, a four-star general, met with Gov. Juan N. Babauta Saturday and told the Commonwealth’s chief executive of the strategic role the islands have for the nation. Laporte is the commander of the United Nations’ Command and U.S. Forces headquartered in Seoul, South Korea.

Babauta said he had a luncheon meeting with Laporte after the general flew over Tinian via helicopter and visited prepositioned ships. According to the governor, there are currently five military ships docked in the CNMI.

“He [Laporte] expressed appreciation for the CNMI having these ships here,” Babauta said. “We continue to play an important, strategic role.”

On Tinian, the military leases over 7,628 acres of public land, which allows it to control approximately 30 percent of the island’s landmass. The Babauta administration has maintained its support for increased military presence in the CNMI.

Laporte’s visit came about days after the highest ranking Naval official in the entire Pacific, U.S. Pacific Command commander Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, came to the CNMI and stressed the islands’ strategic role for the U.S., amid rising economies and military strength in some Asian countries.

Fargo confirmed U.S. plans to increase military presence in the Marianas region. There has been no confirmation from the military, though, if it would eventually put up a military base in the CNMI.

According to CNMI press secretary Pete Callaghan, Fargo and Naval Forces Marianas commander Rear Adm. Arthur Johnson toured the islands to familiarize themselves of the islands’ geography, infrastructure, and potential for future military plans. The Navy officials toured port facilities on Saipan, as well as Tinian and FDM via helicopter.

The military may intensify bombing exercises on FDM as military planes on Guam increase. The Navy officials confirmed short-term military plans in the CNMI, including increased use of prepositioned ships and heightened training of military personnel, according to Callaghan.

Callaghan earlier quoted Fargo as saying that Guam and the CNMI would play “an increasingly more strategic” role for the U.S. “as the ‘center of gravity’ for the U.S. shifts both economically and militarily towards Asia.”

“China and India have huge populations, and as they continue to develop economically, they will have a more significant impact on the U.S. economy,” Fargo reportedly said.

Reports have it that various movements in military logistics and construction activities are currently on going, as the U.S. Department of Defense plans on transforming the Marianas into a military hub on the edge of Asia.

At the same time, a Korean investor—Dong-In Entech Co. Ltd.—is planning to put up on the islands a factory that would manufacture military products for the U.S. Defense Department, particularly CamelBak products, a leading name in backpacks and hydration systems.