A Department of Defense lawyer has signaled the military\u2019s position on planned commercial development at the Tinian port, hinting in a letter to the Commonwealth Ports Authority of a potential clash in military use rights with developments like a multimillion dollar casino resort currently beginning construction on the Tinian wharf.<\/p>\n
In a letter this month to Commonwealth Ports Authority counsel Robert Torres, Department of the Navy lawyer John V.R. Aguon said DoD has \u201cbecome aware\u201d of CPA\u2019s leasing of real property on the island of Tinian to various entities. He reminds CPA that the United States has certain rights contained in longstanding agreements between the CNMI and Defense\u2014such as a 1983 lease and its amendments\u2014that \u201cauthorize and guarantee DoD various military uses at the Tinian port and airport.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe desire to ensure these DoD rights are protected,\u201d Aguon said.<\/p>\n
Saipan Tribune emailed top Navy officials yesterday to clarify the \u201cspecific extent\u201d of the rights that DoD is claiming to the port, and why they have chosen to raise the issue now, but a Navy spokesperson said a response would be given today.<\/p>\n
Aguon\u2019s letter\u2014copies of which were obtained by Saipan Tribune yesterday\u2014notes that certain portions of the port are currently leased to Bridge Investment Group\u2014an investor building a reported $120-million casino resort on the port. And that in the future,\u201d other portions of the Tinian port may be physically or legally encumbered by either Bridge or other private entities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are concerned that these developments may compromise DoD\u2019s various rights,\u201d Aguon said. \u201cWe would like to work with CPA to identify existing conflicts, if any, between the lease to Bridge or other entities and the agreements with United States and how to resolve them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to work together to ensure DoD\u2019s rights are protected moving forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the case of development of Tinian,\u201d said Sen. Jude Hofsneider (R-Tinian) yesterday, \u201cit\u2019s unfortunate that this issue had to come to form at this juncture, knowing that the existing developer is committed and we hope that no further problems will arise as a result of this particularly issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cBIG has been around for the longest time. And they are very persistent with their committeeman to develop Tinian as a destination site for tourism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
CPA executive director Maryann Lizama declined to comment yesterday, saying the Navy letter was under legal review.<\/p>\n
For their part, Bridge Investment Group executive director Phillip Mendiola-Long said they stand by their lease agreement with CPA. \u201c\u2026There are absolutely no conflicts with the U.S. military\u2019s potential use of Tinian\u2019s port,\u201d he told Saipan Tribune.<\/p>\n
Mendiola-Long said their project is a U.S. \u201cEB-5\u201d investor-funded project, which means that \u201cour U.S. company is receiving a low interest loan from foreign investors who are vetted by\u201d the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Services and the U.S. State Department.<\/p>\n
The EB-5 program requires hiring U.S. workers and that their project\u2014which is currently under construction\u2014has an over 90 percent U.S. citizen employment rate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not aware of any other major projects in the CNMI that are anywhere near us with regard to commitment to hiring local or U.S. citizens,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The Department of Defense\u2019s notice of concern\u2014amidst the ongoing commercial development and the larger backdrop of Defense\u2019s plans to conduct large-scale live-fire training on the island\u2014has raised some questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have Phillip [Mendiola-] Long who came out vocally against the military buildup and now all of a sudden the military\u2019s coming in and asking for the lease rights?\u201d said Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Alex Sablan.<\/p>\n
The military is \u201cin that prerogative, that is a given,\u201d he added. \u201cAnytime that the DoD wants to commandeer the ports they can during wartime\u201d but civil time \u201cthey are really going to call this out? I do think it\u2019s poor timing for the military to come out in this timeline and we\u2019ve been talking about this for years. It\u2019s no secret that we\u2019ve been trying to get a project on the wharf there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sablan believes the military uses should not compromise the investment. \u201cI don\u2019t think the investment impacts the military whatsoever. The main port facility is not impacted by this development. They will have complete access to the entry and exit of the port. What the military needs to do is come in and fix the port. Because the port is falling a part.\u201d <\/p>\n
Sablan said the idea that the military will use the port down the line is \u201cfarfetched if we don\u2019t fix the breakwater and don\u2019t have safe navigation for the military vessels that do come into the wharf.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are looking at the wrong issue. Bridge [Investment Group] has nothing to do with the ability of the military to utilize the port. The military has everything to with us trying to fix the port because it was left in tatters, and because Tinian is a military ground\u2014And with three fourths of the island [leased to them], I would think that the military should spend its time fixing the assets so that they will have access to wharfs, the airports anytime they need to.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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