Pentagon to build up US bases in Guam and Australia
to meet China challenge
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Photo Credit: CNN
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Ellie Kaufman, CNN, 11/29/21
The Pentagon will focus on building up bases in Guam and Australia to better prepare the US military to counter China, a senior defense official said on Monday.
The moves have been prompted by the Department of Defense's global posture review, which President Joe Biden ordered Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to undertake shortly after taking office in February. Austin started the global posture review in March. The review is classified, but a senior defense official provided some details about the review's findings.
Biden "recently approved" Austin's findings and recommendations from the global posture review, Dr. Mara Karlin, performing the duties of deputy under secretary for policy, said at a briefing on Monday.
The Indo-Pacific region was a major focus, because of Secretary Austin's emphasis on "China as the pacing challenge," for the Department, the senior defense official said.
The Biden administration has made countering China its main foreign policy priority as tensions have increased with Beijing, particularly over the issue of Taiwan and senior Pentagon officials have publicly expressed alarm about China's efforts to upgrade and modernize its military. Last month Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said China had successfully tested a hypersonic missile in what was "very close" to a Sputnik moment.
To counter China, the review directs the Department to enhance "infrastructure in Guam and Australia," and to prioritize "military construction across the Pacific Islands," the official said, as well as "seeking greater regional access for military partnership activities."
"In Australia, you'll see new rotational fighter and bomber aircraft deployments, you'll see ground forces training and increased logistics cooperation, and more broadly across the Indo-Pacific, you'll see a range of infrastructure improvements, in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Australia," Karlin said during the briefing.
The global posture review also directs the Department to focus more on the Indo-Pacific region by "reducing" the number of troops and equipment in other areas of the world, "to enable improved warfighting readiness and increased activities" in the Indo-Pacific, the official said.
On Russia, the Department declined to provide specific information about how the global posture review is directing the US military to prepare to counter threats from Moscow. Broadly speaking, one of the goals of the review is to "re-establish readiness standards," so that the US military is "agile and responsive to crises as they emerge," the official said.
The US military is working to "re-establish readiness" in Eastern Europe "with the goal of strengthening a combat credible deterrent vis a vis Russia and the specific requirements of that region," the official said when pressed on the issue, but they would not go into more detail on how the US military is preparing to counter Russia.
In the Middle East, the review directed the Department to "continue to support the defeat ISIS campaign," with the current US military presence in Iraq and Syria, as well as continuing to work on building up "the capacity of partner forces," in those countries. But overall, the review directs Austin to "conduct additional analysis on enduring posture requirements in the Middle East," the official said.
Afghanistan was not officially included in the global posture review, because there is a "separate" National Security Council-led "process" that is "reviewing the way ahead for US presence there," the official said.
Overall, the US had "something like 75 consultations," with allies and partners when putting together the review, among them "NATO allies, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and over a dozen partners across the Middle East and Africa," Karlin said.
The review also did not include "functional capabilities" like nuclear, space and cyber, because those are being addressed in other Department specific reviews, the official said.
CNN's Barbara Starr contributed reporting.
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U.S. Interior Technical Assistance Grants for
FY 2022 Now Open to Insular Areas
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On November 12, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs announced that applications for FY 2022 funding under the Technical Assistance Program can now be submitted to Grants.Gov.
This year, $21.5 million is estimated to be made available to support the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as the freely associated states – the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
Technical Assistance Program funding is available for short-term projects intended to meet the immediate needs of the Insular Areas. The top priorities for the Biden-Harris Administration include but are not limited to climate change (including food and water security), energy production, natural and cultural resources, health initiatives and health IT systems, public safety/emergencies, and invasive species management.
Applications will be considered from insular government entities, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations whose grant proposals directly benefit the four U.S. territories or three freely associated states, in accordance with 2 CFR 200. More information about financial grant assistance may be found on the OIA website along with the specific TAP 2022 instructions.
To apply, visit grants.gov and use CFDA# 15.875. The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2022, however, it is highly recommended that applications be submitted as early as possible. Applications will be reviewed beginning May 2022 once OIA receives full-year appropriations. Applications related to public safety and emergencies will be reviewed in a timely manner, prior to the April deadline.
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Federal Funds Will Be A ‘Shot In The Arm’ For Hawaii’s Infrastructure
State transportation officials plan to focus on coastal highways vulnerable to erosion and sea level rise.
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Parts of Kamehameha Highway on Windward Oahu may not be relocated just yet. Transportation officials are waiting the completion of land use studies before deciding on funding relocation efforts in the area.
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Blaze Lovell, Civil Beat, 11/9/21
Much-needed improvements to coastal highways, bridges, airports and broadband topped the list of priorities as Hawaii officials prepared to spend an anticipated $2.8 billion in federal funds after Congress passed a historic infrastructure bill.
The amount is Hawaii’s share of the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was approved Saturday and is awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature. Biden hasn’t given a date for when he’d sign the bill but said it would be “soon.”
U.S. Sen Brian Schatz called the measure an enormous achievement. He said bipartisan infrastructure deals like the one that just cleared Congress have been a “white whale” in Washington, D.C., something that the previous two presidents promised but couldn’t achieve.
“It’s going to benefit Hawaii’s economy for many, many years to come,” the Hawaii Democrat said Monday in an interview.
The lion’s share of Hawaii’s anticipated infrastructure dollars – about $1.5 billion – is earmarked for roads and bridge projects throughout the state. State highway officials already have a list of projects.
Ed Sniffen, state Department of Transportation deputy director for highways, said that the new federal funds would bring the DOT an additional $40 million a year to spend on highway projects for the next five years.
That could expedite the relocation of certain oceanside roads at risk of being swallowed by rising seas.
Sniffen anticipated using the federal dollars to relocate sections of Honoapiilani Highway on Maui away from the shore, while also setting Kamehameha Highway on Oahu near Laniakea Beach another 50 feet mauka. Sniffen said he’d like to push the road even farther from the shore but needs to wait for environmental studies and archaeological impact assessments.
Another section of Kamehameha Highway near Kaaawa also has been pummeled by waves, but Sniffen said the DOT would direct more money toward planning and gaining a better understanding of the future land use for that area before making a decision on what to do with the highway.
The same goes for plans to push part of Farrington Highway in Makaha away from the beach, something area residents have called for in recent years.
Sniffen said the DOT is still working with those communities and plans to install more sand to mitigate erosion of the highways.
The DOT also will work with the private sector to fund highway improvements near areas planned for affordable housing, he said.
Hawaii also is getting $339 million to repair bridges. The state DOT will prioritize a list of the top 50 bridges that need repairs, with a bridge on the Big Island spanning the Hakalau Stream at the top.
Airports are expected to get at least $246 million from the funding package, but officials are waiting for guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration to determine how to spend it. Sniffen said the DOT would have more details on that later this month.
Since the start of the pandemic, congressional funding for transportation projects has totaled about $783 million, according to Jill Tokuda, who has been tracking federal spending in the state for the Hawaii Data Collaborative.
The passage of the infrastructure deal represents a marked uptick in federal investment in Hawaii.
“If you look at it that way, this is significantly more than what has come out in regards to infrastructure,” she said.
Schatz is most excited about broadband improvements for Hawaii, saying large institutions like the University of Hawaii will need better connectivity in the years ahead. He hopes that money could help fund undersea cables and landing sites.
The state is set to receive at least $160 million for broadband infrastructure, $60 million to be set aside for Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries and the other $100 million to expand broadband access statewide.
“This is going to be a real shot in the arm in terms of increasing broadband access in rural communities,” Tokuda said.
According to a press release from Schatz’s office, $637 million would be set aside for public transit, specifically, “cleaner and safer buses.”
Schatz said he doesn’t expect that money to be used to help cover the Honolulu rail project’s $3.6 billion budget shortfall since funds are for currently existing transit projects.
“There’s not a big chunk there for the Honolulu rail project,” Schatz said.
County water and sewer systems are also expected to get a boost with $200 million, while another $18 million would go to electric vehicle infrastructure, like charging stations, in Hawaii.
There could be more funds on the way, too.
Hawaii could be competing for billions of dollars in federal grant funds in addition to the $2.8 billion already earmarked for the state. Sniffen hopes some of those grant funds could help pay for highway relocation programs.
There’s still billions of dollars available nationwide to fund coastal resiliency, flood mitigation, street safety and industrial site cleanup projects.
“It’s quite a bit of competitive dollars where Hawaii already has a competitive advantage,” Tokuda said. “But we need to seek out those funds.”
Planners also must wait for spending decisions to be approved by state lawmakers, who will reconvene the 2022 legislative session in January.
State Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said that lawmakers and Gov. David Ige’s administration are in preliminary discussions on how to allocate the money.
“You want to make sure, when you get the federal dollars, they can be spent expeditiously,” he said.
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StarKist Co. cautions over adversely impacting Am Samoa’s economy
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Photo credit: Samoa News
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Fili Sagapolutele, Samoa News, 11/16/21
U.S based StarKist Co., owner of StarKist Samoa cannery, has called on the U.S. National Marines Fisheries Service (NMFS) to ensure that all future specifications and conservation measures for longline fishing “do not adversely impact the economic viability of American Samoa.”
This is according to StarKist’s Nov. 12th comment letter from the company’s president and chief executive officer, Andrew Choe, to NMFS which is proposing a year 2022 limit of 2,000 metric tons of longline-caught bigeye tuna for each U.S. Pacific territory of American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
In the public notice posted on the federal portal (www.regulations.gov), NMFS said it would allow each territory to allocate up to 1,500 metric tons to U.S. longline fishing vessels through specified fishing agreements that meet established criteria.
However, the overall allocation limit among all territories may not exceed 3,000 t. As an accountability measure, NMFS would monitor, attribute, and restrict — if necessary — catches of longline-caught bigeye tuna, including catches made under a specified fishing agreement.
According to NMFS, the proposed catch limits and accountability measures would support the long-term sustainability of fishery resources of the U.S. Pacific Islands. Comments were due by Nov. 12th.
Choe, in his letter to, Michael D. Tosatto, who is the Regional Administrator of NMFS Pacific Islands Region, noted that “StarKist is deeply invested in the economic viability of American Samoa, which is a small island developing territory that is highly dependent on tuna fishing to support its economy.”
Choe shared with Tosatto background on the company as well as the important role StarKist Samoa plays in the local economy. He also provided a summary of background information on the territory’s tuna industry, saying that the protection of the tuna industry is paramount to economic health of American Samoa.
“Unfortunately, American Samoa’s tuna industry has suffered dramatic losses over the past few decades that have only escalated in recent years,” he said and cited for example, that in 2015, there were 40 U.S. flagged tuna purse seiners operating in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) area.
Today, he said, that number has dwindled to a mere 14 vessels. Moreover, with the Chicken of the Sea cannery closure in 2009 and the Tri Marine closures in 2016, StarKist now operates the single remaining cannery in American Samoa.
“This threatens the very core of the American Samoa economy centered around the tuna cannery in Pago Pago, and the related ancillary businesses and services,” Choe said.
NMFS was also informed that a variety of economic and regulatory factors have contributed to the “precipitous decline” of the tuna fishing and canning industry in the territory. And Samoa News notes that factors cited by Choe have been raised by the company, local fishing fleet and the previous Administrations.
“One leading factor is that, despite American Samoa having recognition under the WCPFC Convention as a Small Island Developing State (SID), U.S. flag purse seiners operating out of Pago Pago do not enjoy SID benefits,” Choe explained.
“Though they currently fly under U.S. flag, these vessels are home ported in Pago Pago, deliver to the StarKist cannery, and support the jobs and livelihoods not only of the cannery workers, but also support a full range of ancillary businesses and services that operate to sustain the cannery and the fleet,” he continued.
He said that recognizing the vessels based in Pago Pago in some capacity as an American Samoa fleet could provide critical relief by removing the high seas constraints placed on the fleet by the WCPFC and NMFS’ Effort Limit Area for Purse Seine (ELAPS) rules.
“StarKist strongly supports efforts to ameliorate this issue, and thus to provide relief for both longline fishing and jig fishing U.S. flag vessels in the WCPFC area,” he said.
IMPACT OF NMFS PROPOSAL
According to Choe, StarKist, along with the entire American Samoa tuna industry, greatly appreciate NMFS’ continued dedication to conservation in the Pacific Island Region and support for the islands’ tuna industry.
As to the proposed year 2022 specifications — identical to the previous annual specifications since 2014 — Choe said that though StarKist welcomes the proposed limits, more broadly, NMFS should continue to ensure that all future specifications and conservation measures do not further contribute to the decline of the American Samoa tuna industry.
Relatedly, StarKist supports NMFS action to relieve some of the broader factors contributing to the tuna industry’s recent decline, especially potential relief from ELAPS
high seas constraints,” he wrote to NMFS.
“As a SID state, it is critical that American Samoa vessels flying under U.S. flag enjoy the same exemptions granted to all non-territory SIDs under the WCPFC Convention,” he points out.
In conclusion, he said, “StarKist looks forward to working with NMFS to protect and cultivate the tuna industry in American Samoa”.
Details of the NMFS Propose Specification and others commenters, are online at: www.regualtions.gov
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East West Center appoints first
Native Hawaiian woman to lead Center
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New president of the East West Center in Honolulu , Suzanne Puanani Vares-Lum.
Photo Credit: East West Center
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Samoa News, 11/21/21
The East West Center in Honolulu has appointed the first Native Hawaiian and first woman to lead the Center since it was founded in 1960.
The Center's Board of Governors has selected Suzanne Puanani Vares-Lum to be its next president.
A former Major General in the US Army, Ms Vare-Lum said the Indo-Pacific region presents many future opportunities and solutions to global issues and she is humbled and honored by the opportunity. She said the East West Center is renowned as an inclusive space and both the Center and Hawai'i play a unique role in bridging East and West to address the critical issues that will impact our future generations.
Ms. Vares-Lum replaces out-going president Dr Richard Vuylsteke. The East West Center is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960.
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Northern Marianas at forefront of strategy to transform recycling in U.S.
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Photo credit: Saipan Tribune
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Saipan Tribune, 11/25/21
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released yesterday the 2021 National Recycling Strategy to tackle recycling challenges facing the nation and to create a stronger, more resilient, and cost-effective municipal solid waste recycling system. This year, the CNMI has overhauled its Zero Waste and Solid Waste plans and infrastructure to create a more resilient and sustainable environment.
“Our nation’s recycling system is in need of critical improvements to better serve the American people. EPA’s National Recycling Strategy provides a roadmap to address system challenges and pave the way for the future of recycling,” said EPA administrator Michael S. Regan. “As we move forward with this strategy, EPA is committed to ensuring that historically underserved and overburdened communities share in the benefits that our work will deliver. Together with the historic investments in recycling from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the strategy will help transform recycling and solid waste management across the country while creating jobs and strengthening our economy.”
During the next few months, EPA will work collaboratively with stakeholders to develop a plan to implement the 2021 Strategy. EPA will collaborate with communities, local, state, federal, and Tribal partners, and with public and private stakeholders to achieve the strategy’s ambitious goals. EPA looks forward to supporting state and local agencies who are on the ground solving these issues.
This year the CNMI has taken major steps to work with EPA through Super Typhoon Yutu recovery grants to develop Zero Waste and Solid Waste plans and infrastructure. In responding to Yutu with a circular economy approach, some of the clean green waste was chipped to provide free mulch to Saipan residents.
Additional work completed to date includes:
- Hiring new staff across different departments to advance CNMI Solid and Zero Waste programs, including a program manager, four solid waste project coordinators, and two solid waste engineers.
- Leading regular Integrated Solid Waste Management Task Force meetings with 18 experts from Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and EPA.
- Visiting and hosting Guam Environmental Protection Agency Zero Waste experts to learn from their successful recycling and composting programs.
- Hosting an initial Zero Waste training, sharing Zero Waste updates at quarterly public interagency meetings, and planning additional training and program development in the coming year.
“The climate, environmental and economic benefits of waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting are clear,” said EPA Pacific Southwest acting regional administrator Deborah Jordan. “We look forward to sharing [the] CNMI’s Zero Waste actions to support the implementation of EPA’s National Recycling Strategy.”
“Recycling is critical to sustainable development in the CNMI given its limited landfill capacity and other resources,” said Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality administrator Eli Cabrera. “BECQ has recently revised its Solid Waste Management Program regulations to streamline permitting for recycling facilities including drop-off centers; automotive, scrap metals, and white goods salvage facilities; construction and demolition waste landfills; and bioconversion facilities including composting. It has also hired staff to build capacity to make sure these changes are implemented appropriately and has scheduled a number of trainings for the upcoming year. These changes should have a significant impact on the amount of waste that is landfilled in the CNMI and help the CNMI achieve its zero waste goals. BECQ is excited to help implement EPA’s 2021 Strategy to address the challenges of recycling to achieve environmental and health benefits for its people and to protect its coastal resources.”
CNMI Office of Planning and Development director Kodep Ogumoro-Uludong further emphasized that “zero waste strategies are critical to achieving responsible consumption and production patterns.” He elaborated that “CNMI’s Comprehensive Sustainable Development Plan includes the goal that, by 2030, 50% of the recyclable waste stream will be diverted from [the] CNMI’s landfill or RCRA-compliant waste management facilities on Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and the Northern Islands with diverted waste composted, reused, or sold to support sustainable waste management systems. By continuing comprehensive interisland waste management planning and investing to build capacity and our built infrastructure, [the] CNMI is making strides to achieve this ambitious target. This goal is connected to and supports other sustainability objectives. For example, by reducing the quantity of disposed waste entering our landfill we will also be able to efficiently allocate waste management costs, maximize public land uses, and reduce environmental and human health risks of improperly managed waste. We greatly appreciate USEPA’s guidance and support in this effort as we continue to incorporate zero waste principles into short-, mid-, and long-range plans and priority actions.”
The U.S. recycling system faces many challenges, including reduced markets for recycled materials, recycling infrastructure that has not kept pace with today’s diverse and changing waste stream, confusion about what materials can be recycled, and varying methodologies to measure recycling system performance. The 2021 National Recycling Strategy identifies actions to address these challenges that build on the collaborative efforts by stakeholders from across the recycling system that began under the 2019 National Framework for Advancing the U.S. Recycling System.
The Strategy focuses on how the Agency will move forward in the following areas:
- Increasing Equitable Access for Overburdened Communities: EPA recognizes the burden that living near waste and waste-related facilities has on communities when waste is not properly managed, which can lead to higher levels of chronic health issues. The 2021 Strategy will increase equitable access to recycling services, reduce environmental impacts in communities, stimulate economic development, and ensure overburdened communities meaningfully participate during the strategy’s implementation.
- Reducing Climate Impacts of Materials Management: The 2021 Strategy includes a commitment by EPA to create a new national goal to reduce the climate impacts from the production, consumption, use, and disposal of materials, which make up approximately 50 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Environment Programme’ s International Resource Panel. This new climate goal will help achieve President Biden’s commitment to achieve a 50-52-percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
- Managing Materials for a Circular Economy: While this initial 2021 Strategy focuses on the recycling of municipal solid waste, additional work is necessary to create a “circular economy” where materials (e.g., plastics, food waste, electronics, and industrial materials) are sustainably managed throughout their lifecycle. EPA, in coordination with other federal agencies and interested stakeholders, intends to release subsequent strategies that will encompass other activities beyond the recycling, reflecting the need for sustainable product design, reducing waste generation, and materials reuse activities critical to realizing circularity. Subsequent strategies will address other key materials, such as plastics, food, cement, and concrete, as well as electronics.
Additional background
Over the next few years, EPA will move forward to support a circular economy approach to materials management, which represents an important change in how the nation currently mines resources, makes them into products, and then disposes of them. A circular economy approach reduces material use, redesigns materials and products to be less resource intensive, and recaptures “waste” as a resource to manufacture new materials and products. It is defined by the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act as “a systems-focused approach and involves industrial processes and economic activities that are restorative or regenerative to the environment by design, enable resources used in such processes and activities to maintain their highest values for as long as possible, and aim for the elimination of waste through superior design of materials, products and 9-\
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Other Regional Stories of Interest
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FILE - An aerial photo shows a small section of the atoll that has slipped beneath the water line only showing a small pile of rocks at low tide on Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands on Nov. 8, 2015. For decades, the tiny Marshall Islands has been a stalwart American ally. Its location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has made it a key strategic outpost for the U.S. military.
(AP Photo/Rob Griffith, File)
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A female farmer is cautioning against the heavy use of fertilizers by some growers.
Sheila Tupua Sulu of Fualelagi Farms, said farmers should be mindful of the effects of fertilizers and pesticides on the territory’s soil. She and husband own one of the biggest organic banana plantations on the island.
A participant of the Thanksgiving Farm Fair last week, she gave this advice to her fellow farmers.
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About PBDC
The Pacific Basin Development Council, established in 1980 by the governors of Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and Hawaii, is a regional non-profit organization that advances economic and social development in the Pacific Islands. The organization, which is based in Hawaii, is located at the East-West Center.
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Encourage people to keep up on our Facebook site where you will get daily news articles on economic development issues about Guam, American Samoa, the CNMI, Hawaii, and the region.
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