[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS, GLOBAL: "Investing in the Future of the Pacific: U.S. Assistance Continues to Address WWII-era Explosive Hazards"

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

Investing in the Future of the Pacific: U.S. Assistance Continues to Address WWII-era Explosive Hazards


By ETHAN RINKS
U.S. Department of State OFFICE OF WEAPONS REMOVAL AND ABATEMENT
SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Seventy-seven years after the end of World War II, Pacific Island nations still face the daunting challenge of post-war impacts: unexploded ordnance (UXO) and abandoned munitions littered throughout the vast expanse of the region.  

At the height of WWII from 1941 to 1945, military forces from the United States, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand clashed in a series of battles across the Pacific Islands.  Large stocks of munitions predominantly from the United States and Japan were shipped to various islands to support ongoing military operations.  Unused and abandoned munitions as well as other explosive items that failed to detonate were left scattered across islands and atolls, buried in the sand, or submerged in surrounding lagoons.  At the conclusion of WWII, a large amount of UXO remained, posing a significant threat to local communities.  After more than seven decades, the presence of WWII ordnance continues to affect nine Pacific Island nations: Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. 

The United States has been at the forefront of unexploded ordnance remediation efforts, alongside allies and partners like Australia, Japan, and New Zealand, through its conventional weapons destruction program.  Progress to date has been significant, but there is much more to do.  The United States is a Pacific nation—geographically, economically, historically, and culturally—and remains invested in supporting a prosperous Pacific.  Identifying and destroying explosive hazards is critical to sustaining that success by making land safe for our Pacific Island allies and partners to grow their economies through sustainable development. In countries where land is scarce, clearing unexploded ordnance can have an outsized impact. 

…

For the entire release, see
https://www.state.gov/dipnote-u-s-department-of-state-official-blog/investing-in-the-future-of-the-pacific-u-s-assistance-continues-to-address-wwii-era-explosive-hazards/

—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)

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