Nicholson allays concerns on impacts of upcoming exercises

Saying that they go through an extremely extensive process, Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson allayed Friday concerns about cultural and environmental impacts from the upcoming military exercises this summer in the CNMI.

Nicholson, who is the commander of Joint Region Marianas, also affirmed in an interview that the People’s Republic of China has been increasing its activities throughout Micronesia and that they are closely watching it.

On the Tinian divert airfield, he said the discovery of World War 2 ammunitions is slowing down the construction work a tad, but the project is moving along.

For the military exercises, Nicholson said they are required to follow a significant set of regulations and they go through an extensive process to ensure that they minimize any impact on the environment.

In addition, Nicholson said, before they do these exercises, their people that run the ranges and set up the exercises closely coordinate with the CNMI’s Bureau of Military Affairs.

Benjamin Nicholson

The Joint Region Marianas commander was interviewed shortly after his meeting with Gov. Arnold I. Palacios in the governor’s conference room last week. At that meeting, Nicholson and Palacios talked about upcoming military exercises in the CNMI and Palacios’ plan to develop military tourism to pivot away from the China tourism market, among other topics.

Nicholson said they emphasize with their military members and their families all the time that they only leave behind their footsteps when they visit any place. Nicholson believes there are military members and their families who are really good environmentalists. “When they go visit a beach, you don’t see them leave trash,” the commander said.

As for China’s military threat to Micronesia, Nicholson said they see quite a bit of People’s Republic of China’s activity throughout the region.

“Things are going on in [the Federated States of Micronesia], Palau, throughout the Marianas. And we keep a very, very close eye on that,” he said.

And it’s not just China’s military movements. Nicholson said there’s quite a little bit of other China activity that happens in the region, such as illegal fishing or related to funding.

“Lots of different things are happening in the region. And we keep close attention to that. That continues to increase over time. But we watch that very carefully,” he said.

With respect to the Tinian divert airfield project, Nicholson said the runway itself really isn’t impacted as it is going to continue to operate.

He said what they are building is a parallel taxiway and a parking apron, and eventually a fuel storage and a piping system from the port that goes to the fuel storage area.

“That is moving along. It’s moving slow because we encountered a few things,” he said, like some World War II ammunitions and that slows down the process a little bit. He said they are, however, working on that and he is confident they will get the project done.

The Tinian divert airfield construction project is composed of two phases—Phase 1 is airfield development and Phase 2 involves a parking apron. Black Micro Corp. got the contract for $161.8 million. The target completion date is Oct. 9, 2025.

The divert airfield will allow the U.S. Air Force to use Tinian as an alternative landing site for its planes in case Anderson Air Force Base in Guam is inaccessible due to war or calamities.