The Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) says it does not have enough land to accommodate a massive new United States military base, despite its growing strategic importance in Washington’s defence plans for the Pacific.
CNMI’s Governor David Apatang said the US Department of War has invited states and territories to identify possible locations for what it calls the next “Great American Base”.
However, Apatang said the Northern Marianas would struggle to meet the land requirements.
The total land area of the CNMI is approximately 179 square miles (464 sq km), with a population of under 50,000.
“We just don’t have the land requirement that they are looking for in the Commonwealth,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Edward Camacho, special assistant to the governor for the Commonwealth Bureau of Military Affairs, said the proposal requires between 100,000 and 250,000 acres of contiguous land, meaning one large, connected area.
The proposed installation would also need adequate electricity, water, schools, healthcare facilities, and housing for military personnel and their families.
Camacho said those requirements would be difficult for the territory, which is already seeking billions of dollars in federal assistance to repair aging infrastructure damaged by successive typhoons.
“So the kind of stuff that we went to ask for is also what they need already,” he said.
However, Camacho said the Northern Marianas could still play an important role in the US military’s strategy in the Western Pacific through smaller facilities spread across its islands.
“So we may not be a base. We may be a place,” he said.
Camacho said military annexes could potentially be established on Saipan, Tinian, Rota, and the Northern Islands.
These could serve as staging areas and logistics hubs, allowing US military vessels to obtain supplies, equipment, and replacement parts without returning to Hawaii or the US mainland.
Camacho said the territory’s three airports and three seaports make it strategically valuable, although major infrastructure improvements would be needed to support expanded military operations.
The proposal comes amid an expanding US military presence in the Northern Marianas, particularly on Tinian, where the Pentagon is developing facilities to support military aircraft and operations.
Camacho said the administration intends to respond formally to the Department of War, outlining the territory’s land and infrastructure limitations while identifying possible alternatives.
He said the response could be submitted within approximately 10 days, subject to further federal guidance.
The Northern Marianas government has not formally rejected the proposal, and no new military base or annex has been approved.
