Pacific Islands: 'Front Line' or Just US Military Parking Lot?
Newsweek breathlessly reports that the Pacific Islands could be a 'front line' in a future US-China war. For the populations of places like Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands, this isn't news; it's a re-branding of their colonial reality. These islands, many still under Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the US, have hosted American military bases, nuclear
tests, and environmental devastation since World War II. They're not just 'on' a front line; they've effectively been a US strategic asset for decades, without full self-determination. Highlighting their 'front line' status now conveniently frames them as vulnerable victims needing more US protection, rather than acknowledging that their strategic location was a direct consequence of US
geopolitical expansion in the first place. One might wonder if their sovereignty, or lack thereof, is ever a topic of concern, or just their utility as potential forward operating bases.