Bikini islanders moved to Rongerik Atoll after their atoll saw nuclear bombs. Photo courtesy by WikipediaMAJURO, Marshall Islands — Facing a potential financial cliff Sept. 30, when the current 20-year Compact funding deal ends, with the prospect of no U.S. funding or federal grant access led the Marshall Islands to approve a disputed agreement signed in January that sets out funding amounts for this western Pacific nation.
At issue primarily is U.S. funding for the nuclear test legacy, an issue that more than 70 years after the United States brought the nuclear age to the Marshall Islands continues to be the defining issue in the relationship between Washington and Majuro.
When a last-minute appeal for more nuclear test compensation by Marshall Islands leaders to the United States Congress fell flat in mid-July, the government’s cabinet endorsed a stalled agreement that paves the way for the wrapping up the Compacts of Free Association for the Marshall Islands and its neighbors, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.
The Marshall Islands acceptance of the January agreement, announced July 24 by Marshall Islands chief negotiator Phillip Muller, puts Washington on track to complete security and economic agreements with the freely associated states that are viewed as critical to U.S. defense posture in the region.
Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia had both signed off in May on new funding agreements as part of their Compacts of Free Association with Washington. But Marshall Islands leaders were unhappy with the U.S. response to the ongoing health and environmental problems from the 67 nuclear weapons tests at Bikini and Enewetak atolls.
With Palau and the FSM already endorsing their new 20-year Compact funding packages, however, the Marshall Islands was the odd man out, with the Sept. 30 end of all U.S. funding and federal programs looming large on the horizon — and concern rising over the possible need to begin tapping into the Marshall Islands Compact Trust Fund that numerous evaluations say is not yet at an adequate level to support withdrawals.
Following hearings in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in mid-July, Muller briefed the country’s cabinet and the Compact Negotiation Committee, recommending the Marshall Islands accept the Compact funding agreement as outlined in the controversial memorandum of understanding signed in January.
In response to Muller’s briefing, the cabinet and the committee approved the January MOU, and Muller said he transmitted the decision to U.S. Special Envoy for the negotiations Joseph Yun.
Muller said it was still up to Nitijela (parliament) to review and decide on the Compact. “I told Ambassador Yun that we can’t guarantee (the outcome) but we’ll take it to parliament and see what they say,” he said in an interview on his brief return from Washington where he attended the hearings and participated in multiple meetings with Congressional leaders.
“Basically, the boat had left the dock,” Muller said of the negotiating options available to the Marshall Islands. “Our friends in Congress urged us to get on board and take what you have,” he said of the MOU, which lists about $1.5 billion for Marshall Islands government services and projects over 20 years, and another $700 million to be put into a trust fund that could be for nuclear compensation or other uses. Details have not been negotiated on use of the funding.
Muller said many of the Congressional friends of the Marshall Islands said they’d work with the Marshall Islands to address outstanding issues going forward.
The situation did not offer the Marshall Islands any flexibility to negotiate further on funding, he said. This was because —based on the three MOUs signed in January — a total amount of funding for the three freely associated states had already been locked in and submitted for Congressional approval by Yun.
If the Marshall Islands walked away from the Compact deal to attempt to continue trying to increase funding for nuclear test legacy needs, “there was no guarantee the U.S. will come back to the table for talks,” Muller said. “These were all issues we agonized over (prior to briefing cabinet).”
By agreeing to accept the earlier-disputed MOU, the Marshall Islands is now on the same footing as the FSM and Palau. There is still significant negotiation work that needs to be accomplished for the details of the fiscal procedures agreement and trust fund agreement for all three FAS, Muller said. “There are still some major hurdles to overcome in the agreement,” he said of the details still needing to be resolved on these agreements.
The decision to move forward with the January MOU reflected the negotiators and cabinet “looking at the bigger picture,” Muller said. mbj
