Permanent US base in NMI pushed

The CNMI Senate is pushing for a permanent U.S. military base in the CNMI, particularly on Tinian, in line with the 1976 Covenant and of the federal government’s lease of 17,799 acres of land on the island.

In a unanimous vote during a Thursday session on Tinian, the nine-member Senate approved Senate Resolution 14-48, which asks the U.S. Department of Defense for the establishment of a permanent U.S. military headquarters in the Commonwealth.

The resolution cited that the most important factor in negotiating the Covenant that created the Commonwealth was the acquisition of Tinian land for the U.S. military’s use.

The Senate cited that in 1971, the U.S. Department of Defense put forward a $114 million project for Tinian. Under the plan, the Tinian facility would be for B-52 reflex capabilities, a cargo aircraft thru-put capabilities, a logistics complex, a port complex, and the development of a maneuver area.

The Senate said that such use was acknowledged by then Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird.

In 1972, the department reiterated the importance of Tinian in a briefing paper for Ambassador F. Haydn Williams, the President’s representative in the Micronesian Status Negotiations, saying that Tinian land “is a definite and real requirement, whose attainment may very well be possible now, but extremely difficult in the future.”

In 1973, U.S. Deputy Representative for Micronesian Status Negotiations James Wilson had stated that “Tinian’s military base would be developed in several stages” and that ultimately, it would consist of 2,600 military and civilian personnel, plus at least 300 direct hires from the local community.

The Senate also quoted Wilson as saying that “the entire military base project would be undertaken with complete regard for ecological considerations and safeguards.”

The Senate further said that Laird had instructed military services to develop programming proposals for Tinian to be included in the construction program for fiscal year 1974.

At the same time, the Senate said that the Defense Department had approved in August 1973 a programming plan for Tinian base and the air force had allocated $279,000 for planning and surveys.

The Senate also said that former Defense Secretary James R. Schlesinger had assured Williams that the Defense Department would provide all possible support necessary, including the effort needed to obtain congressional approval for the acquisition and development of the Tinian base complex.

The Senate said that in view of this plan, the people of Tinian “have sacrificed economic development in the prime portions of its land in return for the promise of a fully functional U.S. military installation.”

The Senate noted that in 1973, the U.S. Naval Administrator of the Trust Territory denied three large economic development projects on Tinian “explaining that the reason for the denial was to suspend uncontrollable land price speculation that would affect the cost of land for the development of a military base.”

The Senate said there were investors wanting to set up a hotel, a palm oil processing plant, and a cement manufacturing plant.

In the resolution, the Senate said that Section 104 of the Covenant, which was signed by President Gerald Ford on March 24, 1976, gives the United States complete responsibility for and authority with respect to matters relating to foreign affairs and defense affecting the NMI.

Further, Section 82 of the Covenant specifically cites that property leased on Tinian will be made available for U.S. military use.

Yet “the CNMI has no U.S. military base to carry out their defense responsibilities” up to now, the Senate said.

In 2000, it cited U.S. Pacific Fleet Admiral Thomas B. Fargo as reiterating the need for Tinian by the U.S. military.

The Senate resolution, authored by Tinian Sen. Joseph Mendiola, will be transmitted to President Bush, the U.S. Congress, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, and various military officials.

This legislative move came even as the CNMI government is negotiating for the Tinian leaseback agreement with the U.S. military.

Mendiola, a member of a five-man team negotiating the terms and conditions of the leaseback agreement, said earlier that the CNMI government would try to get the largest possible area returned to the Tinian government by the military.

Local officials said Tinian would need the land for the construction of a hotel resort, a golf course, a wastewater treatment facility, and a landfill.

The CNMI is seeking an extension on the Tinian leaseback agreement, whose initial 10-year term expired last Aug. 8, 2004.

The government also wants to amend some of the terms and conditions of the 1994 agreement to include other uses within the leaseback property.

The 1994 agreement only allows the CNMI government to use the leaseback properties for agricultural and grazing purposes.

The federal government paid a total of $19.52 million for a 50-year lease of the CNMI public lands. The lease will be effective until 2028.

These leased lands include the 17,799 acres of land and waters on Tinian, 177 acres in Tanapag Harbor on Saipan, and the entire Farallon de Mendinilla, which has an approximate area of 206 acres.

In 1994, the CNMI and the U.S. Department of Defense signed a leaseback agreement so the Tinian government could use a portion of the public lands leased to the military.

This agreement covers 5,800 acres of land located in the middle of Tinian.