Thomas Watkins -
Life on Wake Island seems, much of the time, rather sedate.
The blank ‘Flight Movement’ board at this tiny airfield in the middle of the Pacific promises zero flights, and no movement.
But every day or so, a US military plane touches down to refuel or deliver cargo, bringing a burst of activity to one of the world’s most remote places.
It is located more than 3,500 km west of Hawaii, and four US troops live here year round.
“There’s so much honour here on Wake,” says Air Force Captain Marc Bleha, describing how the island saw one of the first US engagements of World War II, when Marines repelled a Japanese attack just days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Today, after decades of relative calm across the Pacific region, Wake Island is taking on renewed strategic importance.
China is aggressively growing its military and pushing its footprint deeper into the Pacific.
Officials like to talk about America’s Pacific presence as vital for “projecting power” into the region.
General Joe Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters following his visit to Wake Island last month, “If you look at the health of our alliances in the region... The evidence reflects anything other than a decline in Pacific power. We have enduring interests here, we have enduring commitment and an enduring presence in the Pacific.”
That presence is visible across the region, including on Wake and Guam — located 1,500 miles further west — and at a string of US bases on Japan, South Korea and elsewhere.
Wake Island plays a key role in America’s efforts to block a ballistic missile attack from a rogue regime such as North Korea. The Missile Defence Agency uses the atoll to test its missile-interceptor systems designed to smash into a rocket headed toward US soil.
Dunford’s Pacific trip came on the heels of other visits by senior Trump officials, including Defence Secretary Jim Mattis, then-secretary of state Rex Tillerson and the president himself.
During his brief visit to Wake Island, Dunford, a Marine four-star, paid his respects at a small monument to the US Marines and sailors killed during Japan’s invasion and occupation.
The concrete memorial, topped with the Marine Corps’ globe-and-anchor motif, reads: “Enemy On Island, Situation In Doubt,” memorialising the radio transmission the atoll commander sent his comrades in Hawaii during the Japanese invasion. — AFP
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