About
The Micronesia Security Monitor provides a comprehensive, open-source view of geopolitical developments in the north-west Pacific region of Micronesia. It is updated daily by people on the ground and serves as an accurate and dynamic picture of a complex region by those on the frontlines of awareness.
The Pacific Center for Island Security
The Monitor is created and updated by the Pacific Center for Island Security, a Guam-based thinktank which aims to be the home of critical conversation and action on island security, from an island and islander perspective.
Team
Leland Bettis is the Project Director. You can reach him at lelandbettis@pacificcenterforislandsecurity.com
The Monitor is updated daily by people on the ground. Thanks to Alvino Willyander, Ryan Shook, and Nolan Flores for their valuable contributions.
This platform was designed and built by Brody Smith, a freelance developer specializing in data visualization and cartography.
Funding
This platform is made possible with financial support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
About the Micronesia Security Monitor
This first-of-kind platform unifies and consolidates data from multiple sources to form a useful resource for policymakers, commentators, researchers and anyone else interested in the region.
Micronesia comprises Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, The Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Kiribati and the Republic of Nauru.
This region, last upended by violence during WW2, is once again the object of geostrategic competition for power. China’s rapid economic, diplomatic and military rise challenge America’s influence in the region, as well as the containment strategy it has pursued there since the end of WW2. Where the US once counted on its defence agreements with ‘First Island Chain’ countries such as Japan and South Korea, these countries are increasingly reluctant to make pre-commitments to the US that involve a US-China contingency.
This is driving the US back to the ‘Guam Cluster’ in Micronesia along the Second Island Chain. Here, the US claims unfettered military basing, access and overflight rights. The US is implementing a massive military build-up in Guam, but knows it cannot rely on this alone. Indeed, the Chinese foreign ministry has noted that “If Guam were to be an outpost to wage wars, it would not be secure, even if it were armed to the teeth.” This has led the US to adopt a ‘distributed and dispersed’ military strategy, which attempts to minimize the bases and assets exposed to an adversary’s attack, while also shoring up recoverable places that would support survivable operations in conflict. As part of this strategy, the US has been developing airfields in Tinian, Yap, and several other islands, as well as joint-use facilities (airfields and ports) at every location along the Marianas-Palau arc.
The Monitor maps:
- The U.S. military’s bases and places along the Marianas-Belau arc, developed as part of its distributed and dispersed strategy
- Military exercises in the region
- Maritime activities and vessels of interest (updated monthly)
- Attack assets and their range capabilities
- Diplomatic missions in the region
- Incoming foreign aid
It also includes an ‘intelligence center’ about the region, with curated information from sources such as news articles, news broadcasts, academic studies, thought pieces, leading-edge analyses and military publications.