Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Dr. Michael Fusi Ligaliga is assistant professor and program lead of Pacific Island Studies at Brigham Young University in Hawaii. He spoke this week during a Nevada National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) workshop in Carson City.
“One of the things I am extremely proud of is our traditions of our forefathers,” Ligaliga said of Samoa, the first Pacific Island nation to gain independence on June 1, 1962. “Most of them were farmers. Sovereignty was important. We wanted our own identity
The event brought Nevada Guardsmen together with representatives from the National Guard Bureau, Defense Security Cooperation University, the Institute of Security Governance and Nevada Governor’s Office. The workshop focused on the Nevada National Guard’s newest partner nation through the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program with Samoa.
In 2023, Samoa joined the Kingdom of Tonga and the Republic of Fiji as Nevada’s third state partner through the program, which matches a sovereign nation with a state national guard for mutually beneficial exchange efforts and partnerships.
Each partnership works through mutually-beneficial exchange events between nations and state national guards. Future engagements in Samoa will focus on a whole-of-government approach, given Samoa does not have a state military force, incorporating outside military state agencies. One exchange scheduled for this year is set to include a focus on medical readiness, Petersen said.
The SPP began in 1993 with 13 partners following the end of the Cold War. Thirty years later, it includes 92 partnerships with 106 nations and is a key U.S. security cooperation tool that facilitates collaboration across all aspects of civil-military affairs, according to NGB's website.
(DVIDS)
MISSILE TESTS IN GUAM
A Pacific security group has raised concerns over a decade-long proposal to test missile defenses at Guam.
The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) gave the people of Guam 30 days to submit their feedback on plans.
The missile defense flight tests or target tracking exercises would be conducted from Andersen Air Force Base, or at sea from a US Navy ship in the western Pacific Ocean, twice a year over a decade.
Pacific Center Island Security chair Robert Underwood accused the MDA of caring more about war-fighting than housing insecurity for the people who live there.
He said more missiles will not protect Guam from other missiles.
(RNZ Pacific)
BORDER CONTROL OFFICER JAILED
A senior border control officer in Vanuatu has been jailed for obtaining money by deception.
The court heard that between January 17, 2017 and December 31, 2021, Esrome Loughmani obtained money from 55 Chinese nationals, through two other people, to facilitate the processing of resident visa applications.
Supreme Court Judge, Oliver Abraham Saksak, said the officer's actions were deliberate with some degree of planning.
The Vanuatu Daily Post reported obtaining money by deception carries a maximum penalty of 12 years' imprisonment.
(RNZ Pacific)
$11 MILLION IN GRANTS FOR GUAM AND CNMI
U.S. Department of the Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor this week attended the Micronesian Islands Forum (MIF) in Guam and while in the territory, she announced $7,082,993 in Capital Improvement Project (CIP) funding and $2,590,500 in Technical Assistance Program (TAP) funding for Guam and $1,587,001 in TAP funding for the CNMI.
“This forum is an important opportunity to engage with Micronesian leaders on the most current and pressing topics of concern to the region,” said Assistant Secretary Cantor. “At the invitation of MIF-host Governor Lourdes Leon Guerrero, I was pleased to meet with other island leaders and federal and multilateral partners in person where I also announced grant awards that will help address needs related to capital improvements, data development, public safety, training, and local capacity building.”
While in Guam, Assistant Secretary Cantor met with Guam Governor Leon Guerrero and announced approximately $9.5 million in combined CIP and TAP funds for the territory. She also met with CNMI Governor Arnold Palacios to announce an initial award amount of approximately $1.5 million in TAP grant awards for the CNMI from the Office of Insular Affairs.
(DOI press release)
NORTHERN MARIANAS CASINO
A controversial Saipan casino wants its suspended casino license reinstated, before it pays off a portion of the US$62 million it owes in casino license fees.
On top of that, the owner Imperial Pacific, owes US$14.5m in outstanding fees to the Commonwealth Casino Commission.
This comes after Imperial Pacific was allowed an interim withdrawal of US$400,000 from a $7m loan it had recently secured.
The $400,000 would go toward restructuring, with half to be paid to the CNMI Department of Public Lands for its lease of the land on which the resort and casino is built.
With the issue of cash flow clearing up following the $7m loan from Hong Kong, Imperial Pacific director Howyo Chi now wants to negotiate the reinstatement of the casino license.
Chi said restructuring would be difficult without a licence attached to bring in investors.
(RNZ Pacific)
SOLOMON ISLANDS/ AUSTRALIA VISIT
Australia's Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, travelled to Honiara, to meet with Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele about national unity and transformation.
Minister Wong congratulated the prime minister on his appointment and listened to the new government's priorities.
They discussed how Australia can help Solomon Islands meet its economic, social and security objectives more quickly.
"Solomon Islands is an important partner for Australia," Wong said.
"Our two countries are close neighbors with interconnected futures."
(RNZ Pacific)
FIJI PM APOLOGIZES
Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has apologized to the public for how pay rises for parliamentarians, the Speaker and President have been handled.
The Fiji Times reported Sitiveni Rabuka saying the coalition government "fell short" in handling the determination of Parliamentary Emoluments on 24 May.
He assured the nation they will work together to address the concerns raised by the people, but also confirmed there is no way to reverse the decision.
He said the finance minister has to find the money to accommodate the pay increases.
(RNZ Pacific)
SIDS VISAS
A proposal for visa-free travel among the 39 Small Island Developing States (SIDS) has been announced.
The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne announced the plan following the fourth international conference on SIDS, the Vanuatu Daily Post reported.
He said the conference will not be one that results in merely producing a document to be shelved afterward.
SIDS are a group of small island nations in the Pacific, Caribbean, Africa and Indian Ocean with similar sustainable development challenges.
(RNZ Pacific)
DEMENTIA PATIENTS
Tongans in Auckland have rallied in an effort to find solutions to the increasing struggles experienced by Māngalo, or dementia, patients in the community.
Kaniva Tonga reported there are an estimated 500 people in the New Zealand Pacific community including Tongans who have a Māngalo diagnosis.
In a four-hour workshop in Ōtāhuhu, calls were made for the Tongan language to be compulsory when providing advice and educating people about the disease, starting from homes.
They also addressed the need for a separate government funded service to specifically address Māngalo for the Tongan community.
(RNZ Pacific)
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