Micronesian News Wrap-up

The tragic shooting deaths in Neosho Missouri have sparked coverage of the plight of Micronesians in the United States.

The Far Outliers blog has a great entry looking at success stories of Micronesian immigrants in the United States.

A new Congressional Research Service highlights the role of Micronesia and other Pacific Islands in the United State’s global security strategy. Excellent summary at Yokwe.net:

The Freely Associated States (FAS), together with Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, have been regarded as a security border of the United States, the defense of which is considered to be key to maintaining vital sea lanes. In addition to being home to the Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the FAS are located strategically between Hawaii and Guam.

According to some military experts, the FAS provide a vast buffer zone for Guam, which serves as the “forward military bridgehead” from which to launch U.S. operations along the Asia-Pacific security arc stretching from South Korea and Japan, through Thailand and the Philippines, to Australia. The U.S. military is building up forces on Guam to help maintain deterrence and respond to possible security threats in the Pacific.

The Habele Outer Island Education Fund is a 501(c)3 nonprofit serving the educational needs and aspirations of under-resourced schools and students in the Outer Islands of Micronesia. Visit Habele.org to learn more.