CNMI group raises concern on Guam governor's nuclear weapons storage stance

An indigenous advocacy group in the Northern Marianas is opposing Guam Governor Lou Leon Guerrero's stance on the use of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles on Guam.

Guerrero said missile testing and housing nuclear weapons on the US territory is a way of deterring aggression.

She added the US territory had no choice but to defend itself amid ongoing nuclear threats to the Asia-Pacific region.

The group 'Our CommonWealth 670' said it finds this troubling, given the CNMI's historical stance against the introduction of nuclear storage and waste, and the CNMI's southernmost island, Rota, is 90 kilometres north of Guam.

Our Common Wealth 670 said it urges all government officials to uplift the message that nuclear weapons cannot bring peace to a region that has suffered from war.

The group said the idea of harbouring weapons as a deterrence strategy for peace is unsustainable.

"As a community organisation dedicated to protecting our islands, seas, and community from irreparable damage caused by harmful developments such as militarization, we write with urgent and grave concern to urge government officials, to continue to support the voices of our people, by speaking out against the introduction of nuclear weapons, storage and waste in our region of the world, let alone within our Marianas archipelago and surrounding waters."

It added as islanders, they see the land and sea as deeply connected to one another despite the distances between islands.

The group also referenced the nuclear testing conducted in Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands and Moruroa in Tahiti as scars of nuclear age and the subsequent nuclear testing.

"The invitation to bring nuclear power to Guam goes against the history of islander resistance to such dangerous technologies, including anti-nuclear movements such as the Free and Independent Nuclear Pacific.

"We also find this to be alarming knowing the history of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, French Polynesia, and other Pacific Islands."

'Weapons as a deterrence strategy for peace is unsustainable'

Our Common Wealth 670 believes that the CNMI can become an environmental beacon throughout the Pacific, through legislation and community practices that promote an equitable and nuclear-free region.

"Our elders have historically championed a clean and healthful environment, and we want to preserve this wisdom for future generations," the group said.

"We want to highlight and reference Article I, Section 9 of the CNMI Constitution which reads: 'Section 9: Clean and Healthful Environment - Each person has the right to a clean and healthful public environment in all areas, including the land, air, and water. Harmful and unnecessary noise pollution, and the storage of nuclear or radioactive material and the dumping or storage of any type of nuclear waste within the surface or submerged lands and waters of the Northern Mariana Islands, are prohibited except as provided by law.'"

Our Common Wealth 670 said this constitutional provision mandates the CNMI government to oppose the plans of the Pentagon and the territory of Guam to harbour nuclear weapons in such close proximity to the CNMI.

"We implore you and your administration to denounce and oppose the move to bring nuclear armaments and materials to our region. The idea of harbouring weapons as a deterrence strategy for peace is unsustainable."

It added that the goal as Pacific Islanders is disarmament - not more nuclear weapons - and envisioning a world where conflict and geopolitical tensions are resolved via diplomacy and genuine security, a term coined by the International Women's Network Against Militarism.

Our Common Wealth 670 also said the CNMI Legislature's House Joint Resolution 22-11, that was passed during Japan's decision to release treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific in 2022, clearly defines the Commonwealth government's stance on nuclear armament as well as waste disposal.

It read the CNMI Legislature "oppose any government's actions related to nuclear testing, storage, and waste disposal in the Pacific, and reaffirm everyone's fundamental right to a safe and healthy living environment".

Our Common Wealth 670 said as community members dedicated to the protection of the CNMI lands, it once again urges all government officials to uplift the message that nuclear weapons cannot bring peace to a region that has suffered from war.