Marshall Islands seeks more US compensation for nuclear tests

The Marshall Islands wants more US compensation to deal with the legacy of US nuclear testing — 67 nuclear bomb tests from 1946 to 1958 — to enable the renewal of a strategic agreement governing bilateral relations.

The testing included bombing Castle Bravo at Bikini Atoll in 1954, the largest US nuclear bomb ever detonated.

The Marshall Islands' Foreign Minister Jack Ading told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources last week that a memorandum of understanding covering terms to extend his country's Compact of Free Association, or COFA, with Washington was signed in January without proper domestic authorization and under pressure of a deadline for inclusion in US President Joe Biden's budget.

"There are other issues that needed to be included, especially additional funding for the nuclear-affected populations," he told the Senate committee.

The agreement was nonbinding, he said, and he appealed to Congress to tell the Biden administration to continue negotiating.

The Marshall Islands is one of three Pacific island nations covered by the COFA, under which the US has responsibility for their defense and provides economic assistance while gaining exclusive access to strategic swathes of the Pacific.

Renewing the deals is subject to congressional approval.

Under agreements reached this year, the US will commit a total of $7.1 billion over 20 years to the three countries.

In May the US said it had finalized terms with Micronesia and Palau, and its chief negotiator, Joe Yun, said then that he hoped to complete a deal with the Marshall Islands in the following weeks. The economic terms of its existing COFA expire at the end of the fiscal year on Sept 30.

Apology urged

More than 100 activist groups have urged Washington to formally apologize to the Marshall Islands and provide fair compensation.

Yun told the hearing he was puzzled by the Marshall Islands' position, given the proposed agreement offered it $2.3 billion over 20 years, and that the nuclear liability issue had been settled in the 1980s. The memorandum of understanding provided $700 million for a trust fund that could be used for nuclear-affected atolls, he said.

"I have told my Marshallese colleagues: listen, there is no more money."

Yun said he believed domestic political issues were at play in the Marshall Islands, with an election coming up in November and rumors that President David Kabua could face a no-confidence motion.

Ading denied this and said he was "saddened and disappointed" by the reference to his country's internal affairs.

Agencies contributed to this story.

aiheping@chinadailyusa.com