PINA

For the tiny island called “the tip of America’s spear” in the Pacific, it can be hard to say no to the United States government.

So Guam’s governor, Lou Leon Guerrero, expects a tough fight as the U.S territory pushes against a Trump administration-backed move towards opening nearby waters for deep-sea mining.

“We are not a sovereign nation, so we have no control,” Guerrero said.

“They can just come in and do whatever they want … We’re at their mercy.”

More than a year after U.S President Donald Trump signed an executive order to “accelerate” the exploitation of seabed minerals, the U.S government is moving quickly towards deep-sea mining in its Pacific territories.

The U.S Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has started gauging interest in mining leases for the waters of two U.S Pacific territories, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa, issuing a “request for information and interest”.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a U.S regulator, last week also made it easier to obtain permits for seabed mining by halving the required number of environmental assessments and public comment periods.

And the Trump administration expanded its search for seabed minerals in U.S territories, announcing a new survey mapping more than 100,000 square kilometres of American Samoa waters.

Guerrero said Guam — whose waters are connected with those of the Northern Marianas — was not consulted before BOEM issued its request for information about deep-sea mining.

“We’re concerned about how it’s going to impact our fish here,” she said.

So far, Guam’s opposition campaign is only taking shape.

“We’re working with attorneys … we’re working with scientists to see what kind of a fight we have legally and scientifically.”

The Trump administration says the minerals on the ocean floor are critical to national security, energy independence and advanced manufacturing.

And in a world order where the U.S is becoming increasingly assertive, there are fears the small Pacific Island territories have little bargaining power.

But Guam hosts U.S Air Force and naval bases, and the territories are strategically significant to Washington as it looks to counter China’s regional influence.

Guerrero hopes she and her counterparts in the Northern Marianas and American Samoa can leverage their islands’ strategic importance in opposing the deep-sea mining plans.

“All three of us are united in our position, and that is to pause any activities of deep-sea mining ’til we get more [scientific] evidence and data about the consequences and the effects,” she said.

Across the Pacific Ocean, rock-like lumps called 2polymetallic nodules” lie undisturbed at vast depths on the sea floor.

The Trump administration is eyeing them for their nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese.

Deep-sea mining would harvest the minerals using a robot to vacuum the nodules to the ocean’s surface for processing ashore.

Before Trump returned to power last year, the UN-affiliated International Seabed Authority (ISA) had granted a small number of exploration contracts to map and search potential mining areas in the Pacific Ocean’s international waters, while it developed rules for regulating deep-sea mining.

But the U.S isn’t a member of the ISA, and after re-entering the White House, Trump expedited licence approvals for deep-sea mining in American and international waters.
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In written responses to the ABC, BOEM said deep-sea mining could enhance U.S economic and national security by reducing its dependence on other countries for critical minerals.

“The U.S relies heavily on foreign sources, particularly China, for these materials,” it said.

“Developing a domestic supply of critical minerals supports the [Trump] administration’s goals for energy independence, supply chain resilience, and technological leadership.2

Deep-sea mining has divided the Pacific, where many island nations remain worried about the potential impacts on fish and other species from the sediment it disturbs.

One recent study also suggested the nodules on the sea floor could be generating oxygen — a finding that scientists say warrants more research.

If proven, it challenges the belief that most deep-sea habitats are reliant on oxygen sinking from the surface.

The lieutenant governor of Guam, Josh Tenorio, the territory’s second-highest-ranking official, said the Trump administration’s push to harvest seabed minerals is another environmental blow to a region already struggling with the impacts of climate change.

“It’s a very violent proposal for deep-sea mining with limited research and with limited ethical supervision or proposed ethical parameters” he said.

“It really is a big threat.”

BOEM said while it was exploring the potential to commercially lease seabed critical minerals, there had been no decision to grant leases or conduct mining.

“Initiating a request for information is the optional, first step in a multi-phase process to assess industry interest, environmental considerations, and cultural impacts before any leasing decisions are made,” it said.

“This process ensures decisions are science-based, environmentally responsible, and informed by public input.”

The bureau said it would consult with the US territories before making any decisions.

“BOEM has emphasised that intergovernmental collaboration is a priority and will engage territorial governments, Indigenous communities, and stakeholders throughout the process,” it said.

Still, opponents of deep-sea mining in the Pacific fear the Trump administration is intent on granting commercial leases.

They’ve started a bipartisan campaign against the plan across US territories in the Pacific.

It’s gathered more than 60,000 public comments, letters and petition signatures, said Angelo Villagomez, a senior fellow at U.S think tank the Centre for American Progress.

“This is a wildly unpopular initiative that the Trump administration is trying to force on the territories in the Pacific” he said.

U.S territories have been unified in their response, said Neil Weare, co-director of advocacy group Right to Democracy, which is helping lead the campaign.

“I’ve really never seen this kind of cohesion, not just across territories but even within territories,” Weare, who grew up in Guam, said.

“This is not a partisan issue, this is not an ideological issue, people have really come together.”

Deep-sea mining in U.S territories would also likely face legal challenges, said Emily Jeffers, a senior lawyer at U.S-based environmental group the Centre for Biological Diversity.

“It is deeply offensive to the people of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands that these lease sales might happen against the wishes of the entire population,” she said.

BOEM said it extended the comment period for the request for information in “response to territorial leaders’ concerns, ensuring ample opportunity for participation”.

BOEM said it would review the submissions to determine industry interest, environmental and cultural considerations, and potential conflicts with existing ocean uses — but said there was “no fixed timeline”.

Guerrero is hoping Guam’s relationships with the U.S government and its role as a defence hub will give it leverage, but she is doubtful of its options.

“We are the property of the United States … that’s the severity of it,” she said.

Advocates hope the united front of US Pacific territories against deep-sea mining will draw global attention.

“The US is investing billions and billions of dollars in the U.S territories, especially around national security, around defence, and this is the time for us to become very clear on the type of relationship that we have” Sheila Babauta, a former congresswoman for the Northern Marianas, said.

Babauta, who is also chair of the grassroots non-profit organisation Friends of the Mariana Trench, wants local people to continue standing up.

“We’ve had this relationship with the United States for almost 50 years now, influencing our way of life and introducing values that sometimes don’t fit with an island-specific viewpoint,” she said.

“I want to encourage our community here to continue practising our culture,” said Babauta.