Micronesia and Surrounding Islands

Micronesian island states need help to increase sea patrols over their exclusive economic zones (EZZ) to protect marine resources, prevent pollution, and monitor the safety of sea routes through their territories.

The Japanese, Australian and U.S. Coast Guards may soon start cooperating with Micronesian states to provide this surveillance and protection, perhaps as early as 2011, according to proposals suggested at a meeting held in Tokyo on 2 March.

“There is a need for us to strengthen the surveillance capacity of Micronesia,” said a participant at the conference, which included representatives from Palau, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Australia, Japan, and the United States.

Micronesian states welcomed this initiative to increase surveillance of their ocean territories and EEZs, collectively covering 5.5 million square kilometers – the third largest in the world -- especially due to their own lack of funds and necessary sea patrol ships.

The Tokyo meeting was attended by The Nippon Foundation chairman Yohei Sasakawa, and the Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s chairman Jiro Hanyu whose organizations offered their support for a public-private partnership to build up Micronesia’s maritime safety and ocean surveillance capacity.

The meeting was also attended by government ministers from Palau; the Federated States of Micronesia; and the Marshall Islands, as well as Australian, U.S., and Japanese officials who discussed concrete plans to help combat illegal activities and incursions in the Western Pacific ocean.

The U.S, is concerned with the problems facing the Micronesian states partly because of their proximity to Guam, which is a key forward American security base in the western Pacific, and Japan is particularly anxious to maintain the security of the area because Japanese shipping and trade routes there are connected to the Malacca and Singapore Straits, a major sea lane.

Since 2008, The Nippon Foundation and Sasakawa Peace Foundation have provided collaborative consultation and support to Micronesia to assess its maritime security capabilities and needs. The result of this research and assessment shows a pressing need for Micronesia to increase its sea patrols and other maritime capacity building.

The action plan proposed at the 2 March meeting included: the need for construction of coast guard infrastructure in the Micronesian nations, and increased sophisticated communication capability throughout the vast ocean area, A meeting is planned for June in Guam of a working level group of experts to start preparations for the launching of projects next year to start building necessary infrastructure in the three Micronesian states, and a further meeting is planned for the latter half of 2010 in one of the island states to consolidate these plans.

The attendees of this first meeting on 2 March included Minister of Justice Wase of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia Minister of Transport and Communications Infrastructure Mr Itimai, the Republic of Palau Minister of Justice Gibbons, Japan Coast Guard representative Hisayasu Suzuki, U.S. State Department senior advisor Mr Bezuna, Australian Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Bureau, Pacific Waters, The Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, and Sasakawa Peace Foundation Chairman Jiro Hanyu.