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Chinese language and foreign troops in the homeland
In the conversation over the military build-up in Guahan, critics are sometimes assaulted with what some people think is a knockout blow. D
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These Islands
By Robert Underwood
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Oct 5
Independence, co-dependence: The complex nature of free association
On Oct. 1, 2024, Palau marked the 30th anniversary of its independence. The two other freely associated states, the Federated States of...
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Sep 2
Democrat vs Republican: Is the Pacific relevant?
The United States is in the middle of a very difficult time in selecting its next president. There are self-proclaimed voices of “joy”...
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Aug 6
Distorted federal policies
The Compact Impact Fairness Act is now the law of the land. It is unclear what effects this legislation will have in the long run. It...
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Jun 3
A tale of two territories
The current crisis in New Caledonia/Kanaky over the next step for self-determination does not seem to connect to Guahan’s quest for...
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May 7
Welcoming the FSM to Beijing: The US has a lot of learn
The 15-member delegation of the Federated States of Micronesia visiting China last month has set off a lot of conversations and...
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Apr 9
Guam gets the short end of the stick
The recent approval of the Compacts of Free Association in Micronesia, Palau and the Marshalls has apparently resolved many of the dire...
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Mar 6
Thoughts and prayers for Guam: CIFA meets COFA
During the past year, there have been several dramatic statements and legislation related to the renewal of the Compacts of Free...
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Jan 10
Bespoken compacts among equals or between vassals and the overlord?
As we await the passage of the Compacts of Free Association, there are always underlying perceptions and avenues of thought that frame...
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Dec 5, 2023
Guam ignored in public, admonished in private
The Pacific Island Forum concluded last month in Rarotonga Cook Islands with a significant American presence. The United States'...
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Oct 3, 2023
Being American-- or not
The basic question about Guahan’s political identity has always been part of the Guahan reality since 1899. Is Guahan part of the United...
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Sep 11, 2023
Applying leverage to Uncle Sam
August was a busy month for federal travel to Guahan. The island was treated to the “scoping” meetings on the Enhanced Integrated Air and...
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Aug 6, 2023
Compact Fairness Act is unfair to Guam
There is legislation moving through Congress in combination with the Compact of Free Association agreements entitled the Compact Impact...
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Jul 9, 2023
Life in the first-strike community
The struggle over Micronesia has barely started. China’s initiatives in the broader Pacific region, naval presence near Guahan and...
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May 2, 2023
Funding the Pacific partnership, COFA and insular areas
Over the years of dealing with Guam’s political status, the island has buffeted between being a non-self-governing territory and a...
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Apr 6, 2023
China: here, there and everywhere
The end of the negotiations between Ambassador Joseph Yun and the freely associated states is only 50 percent of the struggle to...
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Mar 9, 2023
Navigating the regional organizations in the Pacific
In today’s Pacific island world, there is no shortage of regional efforts, meetings and organizations. If you have an idea and cannot...
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Feb 3, 2023
In the midst of neocolonialism
What are the threats to Pacific solidarity? The state of Pacific island solidarity in the midst of a serious crisis pertaining to climate...
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Dec 5, 2022
A Pacific Island Agenda for Guahan in the 21st century
One of the oddest slogans ever used in Guahan was “America in Asia.” Of course, it was an attempt to generate economic interest by...
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Nov 4, 2022
Guam and the Blue Continent: Some awkward questions
Pacific island solidarity is at the core of Pacific island aspirations for the future. Going back to an earlier time when leaders spoke...
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Oct 9, 2022
FAS negotiations with China, Compact impact in the background, nuclear issues in the foreground
The FAS negotiations with China, Compact impact in the background and nuclear issues in the foreground In Micronesia, we live in an...
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Sep 4, 2022
Learning the language of linkage in the contested Pacific
There are two items that should concern us in the Pacific island region. One, the ongoing crisis in the Taiwan Straits, which threatens...
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Aug 2, 2022
PIF goes pfft, then poof
The Pacific Island Forum is under a great deal of stress and some confusion these days due to the sudden withdrawal of Kiribati a few...
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Jul 3, 2022
The meaning of 4th of July for American colonies
Independence Day is the greatest day in the American calendar. It is the day the English colonies declared their independence from King...
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Jun 8, 2022
‘Don’t be alarmed’ can be alarming in strategic conversations
Last month, Rear Adm. Ben Nicholson, commander of the Joint Region Marianas, told the Guahan community: “I don’t want you to be alarmed.”...
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May 5, 2022
Solomon Islands, China and geographic metaphors
A recently signed Security Cooperation Framework Agreement between the Solomon Islands and China has generated more attention to the...
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Apr 5, 2022
Ambassadors galore now gracing the previously neglected Pacific islands
In the middle of the international attention to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the freely associated states seem to be finally getting...
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Feb 9, 2022
Pacific islands under siege by climate change or China
When island leaders are asked what is the major security challenge in the island Pacific, they uniformly reply “climate change.” This has...
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Jan 7, 2022
FAS and paused negotiations with US
This is a great time to be president of the three freely associated states (FAS). Presidents David Panuelo of the Federates States of...
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Dec 10, 2021
Iron island, tip of the spear or spear catcher?
The ancient CHamorus and most traditional Pacific Islanders traded away lots of goods for “iron.” Pacific Islanders were familiar with...
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Nov 7, 2021
We are regional people. But from which region?
The definition of “region” in the Pacific has always been an issue that divides as much as it unifies. How we define a geographic region...
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Oct 1, 2021
Living with AUKUS in the nuclear-free Pacific
The recent Australia United Kingdom United States (AUKUS) agreement on nuclear submarines has much of the world scratching their heads....
By Robert A. Underwood
Sep 1, 2021
9/2 and 9/11: Dates that we should remember and learn from
September will give us in Guahan and the United States two historical dates. They could have a great deal to do with our future in these...
By Robert A. Underwood
Aug 9, 2021
Micronesians are dying from Covid in high rates. Or are they?
There is nothing more revealing about the conditions of our existence than our income and our health. We expend great effort in acquiring...
By Robert A. Underwood
Jul 7, 2021
Who are you? What are you? Mark the box
What is the difference between a label, a category and an identity marker? When we say we are something, we are embracing an identity...
By Robert A. Underwood
Jun 3, 2021
Can they act in their own interest?
Two events of international significance have potentially dramatic effects on these islands on both sides of the equator. The first is...
By Robert A. Underwood
May 6, 2021
Racism is systematic, not just personal
I had a long-distance relationship with the infamous George Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama. It was born in the civil...
By Robert A. Underwood
Apr 5, 2021
Whipping Palau into shape: A conversation with President Whipps
Palau President Surangel Whipps Pr. recently announced he was going to Taiwan as part of a tourism bubble between the two island nations....
By Robert A. Underwood
Mar 5, 2021
Microrexit: Micronesia is no longer in the house
For decades, islanders in the Pacific have been enthralled by concepts of regional unity and regional action. Beginning with the...
By Robert A. Underwood
Mar 2, 2021
Commemorating a historical event 'with a more robust imagination'
Following speech was delivered March 2, 2021 on the occasion of the 500th anniversary commemoration of the circumnavigation It is a...
By Robert A. Underwood
Apr 4, 2020
Elected leaders in the time of the virus
In the middle of the pandemic, we are experiencing many things. We are having panic attacks, maniacal purchasing, emotional outbursts,...
By Robert A. Underwood
Dec 6, 2019
Our rights are unalienable
In formal conferences, public meetings and private conversations over self-determination and self-government, we are treated to a series...
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