The U.S government is seeking to enhance its defence arrangement with the Marshall Islands by pairing it up with the Guam National Guard under the Department of War’s state partnership programme.
“These National Guard units will leverage their strength in cyber security, counternarcotics and maritime domain awareness to align U.S Indo-Pacific Command lines of effort with RMI defence priorities,” the Office of the Spokesperson for the State Department said in a media statement.
The spokesperson said the State Department will coordinate with the Department of War to establish the new security pairings for the Marshall Islands, which would also include a state partnership with the Nebraska National Guard.
The Guam National Guard established its state partnership with Palau last year and has a 25-year-old tie-up with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The state partnership programme, conceptualised in 1993 and managed by the National Guard Bureau, is a security initiative executed by states and territories in support of the U.S Indo-Pacific Command.
The National Guard currently maintains 18 partnerships involving nine states and the territory of Guam. The programme, which also links National Guard units with partner countries, currently has 106 partners with 115 nations.
The establishment of a new state partnership for the Marshall Islands was among the initiatives discussed during the bilateral meeting between U.S officials and Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine in Majuro on 19 September.
The U.S delegation was led by U.S Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and U.S Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral. Samuel Paparo.
According to the National Guard Bureau’s website, the partnership programme enables guard units “to conduct military-to-military engagements in support of defence security goals.”
The Marshall Islands is an independent nation freely associated with the U.S under the Compact of Free Association. The treaty pledges a 20-year U.S. economic package to the Marshall Islands in exchange for exclusive rights over the island nation’s defence sites.
The Marshall Islands does not have its own military and relies on the U.S for its defence and security under the compact. The Pacific island nation hosts U.S Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll.
During the meeting, Heine reaffirmed that the U.S-Marshall Islands partnership “remains vital to both nations, particularly in safeguarding peace, security, and stability in the Pacific.”
She also underscored “the significance of the U.S missile testing and tracking facility at Kwajalein and the Marshall Islands’ commitment to ensuring that surrounding communities also benefit through training, employment opportunities and sustainable local development.”
According to a statement from the Marshall Islands government, the meeting tackled “the importance of strengthening U.S naval and coast guard presence in Majuro” and the consideration of Majuro Atoll’s role as a potential support hub for logistics, resupply, and future operational needs.
While the Marshall Islands has a maritime patrol unit for internal security, it delegates its external defence.
The department said the U.S and the Marshall Islands are finalising an enhanced shiprider agreement, which will bolster efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, secure the Pacific island nation’s exclusive economic zone and protect its borders through interagency training and counter narcotics efforts.
The U.S government agreed to provide advanced port scanners to detect and deter smuggling and other illicit activities.
