Guam awaits the Marines

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The population of Guam is expected to increase by 50 % in the next four years. That’s because the U.S. military plans to redeploy thousands of Marines and their families from the Japanese island of Okinawa. The move could bring an economic boom to the Pacific island but it threatens to strain Guam’s infrastructure. Akiko Fujita reports from Guam.

• BBC profile of Guam

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JEB SHARP: The US is sending in the Marines to the Pacific island of Guam.  Thousands of Marines are being transferred from Okinawa to the US territory.  The move could bring an economic boom to Guam, but Akiko Fujita reports that the influx also threatens Guam’s roads and port.

AKIKO FUJITA: Pristine beaches dominate the landscape in Guam.  The sunny weather and clear blue waters attract Asian tourists to the island.  Now the US territory is getting ready to welcome a different kind of visitor: 8,000 US Marines from the Japanese island of Okinawa.  The US and Japan agreed to the transfer three years ago to reduce US troop presence in Okinawa.  The Marines are expected to move here in four years and Joe Arnett with the Guam Chamber of Commerce says that move will transform the island.

JOE ARNETT: This investment into Guam is unprecedented.  Guam has never seen this level of investment into the island ever before.

AKIKO: Arnett expects the military buildup to create 30,000 new jobs on the island.  Many will be temporary construction jobs filled by foreign workers.  But Arnett says high paying permanent jobs will stay in the community.  It sounds like a good opportunity for an island struggling with eight percent unemployment.  But Senator Judy Guthertz says Guam isn’t ready to shoulder the load.

JUDY GUTHERTZ: We’re not going to be ready unless resources are made available to the civilian community.

AKIKO: Guthertz oversees the legislative committee for the military build-up.  She supports the Marine transfer but she says the American government isn’t doing enough to support Guam.  While the US and Japan have pledged ten billion dollars for the build-up itself, they haven’t guaranteed large investments in the civilian community.  Guthertz says that’s a concern in light of a recent environmental impact statement.  It said the build-up would attract tens of thousands to the island.  Perhaps as much as a 50 percent jump in a few years.  Guthertz says the US government isn’t playing fair because Guam is only a US territory.

GUTHERTZ: We don’t vote for President, we don’t have voting representatives in the Senate; we have a non-voting delegate to the US Congress.  So our political rights are frankly quite limited.

AKIKO: Guam’s problems boil down to infrastructure.  The wastewater treatment plant can’t handle a large population.  The roads aren’t wide enough to handle many cars.  There’s just one port and the shipments there are expected to jump from 100,000 containers to 600,000 in just a few years.  At Guam Memorial Hospital the island’s only civilian hospital, Chief Planner William Kando says he’s already near capacity.

WILLIAM KANDO: We know that we’re not big enough right now to not only handle the population for normal operations, but what if a major disaster happens?

AKIKO: The military already owns a third of the island and the Marines aren’t the only unit expanding.  The Army is building a missile defense system; the Air Force is adding more drones.  The Navy’s expanding its port to house more aircraft carriers.  Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero teaches at the University of Guam.  She says the buildup threatens a native Chamarro culture that dates back 4,000 years.  She’s rallying the community to oppose the military’s plans.

VICTORIA-LOLA LEON GUERRERO: A lot of Chamarro families will be losing their land.  There will be 2300 acres of land taken for this military buildup if their plans go accordingly.

AKIKO: The military says it’s sensitive to the community’s concerns.  Public Affairs Officer Captain Neil Ruggiero says the Defense Department’s consulted the governor, legislators and community leaders throughout the process.  He also says the government is securing funds to help improve the island’s infrastructure.  Senator Guthertz says Guam didn’t have a say in the decision to bring Marines here, but the community can speak out next month.  The military will host public hearings on their proposed plans before signing off on Guam’s future.

SENATOR: Once this report is approved and signed off on, it’s an open license for the United States military to do whatever they want to do on Guam.  So they only time we have to influence what will happen here and happen to us is now.

AKIKO: For The World I’m Akiko Fujita in Guam.

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