US military censors CNMI casinos

According to the US military, Chinese-backed casinos in the Northern Mariana Islands are a threat to its operations in the area.

Northern Mariana Islands.- An unexpected objector for casinos in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has emerged, as the US military has branded them a threat to its operations in the region. In a report from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), Chinese-backed gaming venues have been targetted as harmful for the military’s exercises around the Pacific Ocean.

The report, titled “China’s Engagement in the Pacific Islands: Implications for the United States” focuses its assessment on venues on the CNMI islands of Saipan and Tinian. According to the document, they “could complicate U.S. Department of Defense plans in CNMI for extensive training and exercises resulting from the recent relocation of Marines from Okinawa, Japan.”

The USCC specifically targets the Imperial Pacific Resort Hotel on Saipan and two proposed integrated resort projects on Tinian.

Alter City, responsible for the Tinian projects, argued that the report’s claims will “adversely impact the island of Tinian, its residents and adjacent operators” and blasted the US military for offering close to no benefits to the island, while “the burdens are significant and unsustainable.”