DKI APCSS professor U.S. Army Lt. Col Thomas Matelski has an OpEd in the latest edition of The Diplomat focused on the implications of not renewing the Compact of Free Association between the Federated States of Micronesia and the U.S.

“America’s Micronesia Problem” provides a background on this relationship, how it came about, and outlines possible consequences of this association coming to an end.

According to Matelski: “Ending the Compact in 2018 impacts F.S.M. more than it does the U.S. For one thing, Micronesians currently living abroad will lose their immigration status and face a potential loss of federal benefits already being provided. In F.S.M.s view, the ending of the Compact provides an opportunity to redefine the relationship with the U.S. and set things on a more equal footing, replacing the existing junior-senior partner relationship with one between two independent sovereign nations. The most serious impact from the U.S. standpoint is in the provision of security and defense for F.S.M. If that is not provided by the United States, who then would be the guarantor of Micronesian security?”

Read the full OpEd online at: http://thediplomat.com/2016/02/americas-micronesia-problem/

Lieutenant Colonel Tom Matelski is a U.S. Army War College Fellow at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army, the Daniel K. Inouye Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.