Guam Sees a Chance To Seek Statehood

BY MIKE CHERNEY

TUMON, Guam—During his roughly 31-year career as a U.S. Marine, Vincent Santiago fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, served as a drill instructor and worked for a federal agency that promotes cooperation with allies.

But Santiago, a U.S. citizen, can’t vote for president. That’s because he lives in Guam, a U.S. territory that has little say in how it is governed from Washington. He wants Guam to be the 51st U.S. state.

“If I’m fighting to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, but I’m not allowed to vote for the person who could recommend to the legislative branch that we go to war, I don’t think that’s fair,” said Santiago, a member of Guam’s indigenous CHamoru people.

As U.S. competition with China intensifies, the Pentagon is building up Guam as a hub for its security strategy in the Pacific. It is upgrading bases, moving more troops to the island and building a multibillion- dollar missile defense system to guard against a possible Chinese attack.

A campaign to change Guam’s status is seizing the moment. Will Parkinson, a local lawmaker who supports statehood, has organized town halls to spread the word about options for the future of the island, which the U.S. captured from Spain in the 1898 Spanish-American War.

“We must solidify our place in the American family such that any attack on Guam is unmistakably an attack on the United States itself,” Parkin--son said at one of the recent events, which was attended by several dozen people.

Parkinson, who is Filipino American and was raised on Guam, is pushing for a referendum next November. In his plan, a “Yes” result would lead to a vote on the options, which would include state--hood, independence and free association, under which Guam would be independent but allow Washington control over areas such as defense in exchange for financial support or other incentives.

Statehood would require approval from Congress, a tricky prospect if lawmakers think adding two senators and a voting representative—the island now has a single, nonvoting delegate— would tip the balance of power in Washington.

But given that President Trump has mused about taking Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada, some believe it is a good time for statehood supporters to push.

“You could potentially see a Trump administration, and Trump himself, wanting to talk about expanding the U.S. footprint, doing something monumental,” said Kathryn Paik, a former director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific at the National Security Council who is now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank. “What bigger announcement than to create a 51st state?”

Advocates like Parkinson argue that statehood would make it easier to get federal resources from Congress.

Independence advocates contend that statehood would just be another form of colonialism for the CHamoru, about 40% of the island’s population, who have been subject to foreign rule since Spain began settling the island in the 17th century. They were long known as the Chamorro, a spelling imposed by the Spanish, but local legislation has recently favored “CHamoru.”

“That these bases are here to protect democracy, to me is just a sham because we don’t even have full democracy,” said Monaeka Flores, a CHamoru who supports independence and is the director of community advocacy group Prutehi Guahan. “Sometimes it feels like we are a stateless people.”

Washington would likely be hesitant to agree to full independence for Guam, given the island’s crucial military role. But there could be nationalsecurity benefits to statehood. It could improve Washington’s reputation among Pacific island nations that worry about the U.S.’s commitment to the region and could turn to China instead for support.

America’s territories have long been a paradox for a country that got its start by fighting off an imperialist foreign ruler. Guam, with a population of about 164,000, is the U.S.’s second-most-populous territory after Puerto Rico— which has also wrestled with whether to be a state.

The U.S. has long supported self-determination for the people of Guam, said Jennifer Locetta, a U.S. official at the United Nations, during a U.N. meeting on decolonization last month.

While the U.S. military buildup transforms the island and its economy, a change in status is far from certain. Some people see Washington itself as a significant hurdle.

“The federal government loves the status quo, because they get to act unilaterally without having to listen to what the people of Guam say,” said Neil Weare, who grew up in Guam and is co-director at Right to Democracy, an advocacy group that views the current territory framework as undemocratic. “If it’s solely up to the federal government, the status quo will never change.”