Tainted Waters, Tainted Trust: U.S. Legal Failures in Hawai'i and Guam Undermine Indo-Pacific Diplomacy [Note]

Abstract

Under the message of a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” the U.S. has pledged to protect Pacific Island Countries’ (PICs) sovereignty, environmental security, and access to the rule of law. However, PICs distrust the U.S., in part because they observe its treatment of domestic Pacific islands as a “litmus test” of how they might be treated. This note examines the contradiction between U.S. foreign and domestic Indo-Pacific policy to reason that the U.S. has failed PICs litmus test: the U.S. has denied both Hawaiʻi and Guam their territorial sovereignty, contaminated their critical water sources in bad faith, and minimized their access to preventative or remedial legal redress. This note specifically explores U.S. bad faith regarding the safe removal and detonation of unexploded ordnance, and the safe operation of chemical storage and waste infrastructure. Accordingly, this note recommends that the U.S. extend negotiations with Hawaiʻi and Guam to become Freely Associated States (FAS). Among other benefits, this would legitimize the United States’ commitment to its “free and open Indo-Pacific” theme by bridging the gap between its actions domestically and promises abroad.