“CLARIFYING” her comments in a recent interview with Radio New Zealand, Guam Gov. Lou A. Leon Guerrero on Monday said she does not support the presence of nuclear weapons in Guam or the Pacific.
“Nor do I support the escalation to nuclear warfare,” she added. “I stated that Guam will likely be at risk for potential conflicts because of our strategic location in the Western Pacific, which controls access to Asia trade routes. Disputes in this area could escalate into military actions. I reiterate, Guam must be prepared and must be secured.”
In her letter to Mark Stevens, RNZ chief news officer, Leon Guerrero said, “As we continue building relationships across the greater Pacific, it is important to the people of Guam to correct misunderstandings of how Pacific Island leaders perceive our community and our strategic value to the U.S. and our allies. Most recently, following an interview with RNZ reporter Eleisha Foon, articles and editorials were published that misrepresented my comments about my views on nuclear weapons and the possibility of a future war, causing undue distress among our regional community. Ms. Foon brought her perspective to the interview and many other interviews, which asserted that by building up the defense of Guam, we are attracting war to Micronesia and the greater Pacific,” Leon Guerrero added.
“In our current Indo-Pacific geopolitical situation,” Leon Guerrero said, “the geographic designation of Guam and the Marianas illustrates what military planners refer to as ‘The Second Island Chain.’ ”
“Our region’s heightened security is due to China’s well publicized strategy to take over Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea,” she added. “On a near-weekly basis, North Korea fires missiles toward Guam in an attempt to improve its deadly technology with every effort.”
She said her administration “continues to track and monitor military growth plans with our Department of Defense partners, strategic government agencies, and leaders in our community, so that we may make our concerns loud and clear while also keeping residents updated with buildup related issues.”
Following RNZ’s interview with Leon Guerrero, an advocacy group from the CNMI, “Our Common Wealth 670,” urged CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios to speak out against “the introduction of nuclear weapons, and storage and waste in our region of the world, let alone within our Marianas archipelago and surrounding waters.”
Asked last week whether he was “okay” with nuclear weapons stored close to the CNMI, Palacios said, “Nobody, let me be clear, nobody, not…any community in the world should not be concerned about that, but the fact of the matter, we are in a different world environment today, and so…how do we address that? We look to our Department of Defense to make sure that a lot of the concerns are mitigated,” he added.
