CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The
principal
U.S.
territories
are
Puerto
Rico
and
the
Virgin Islands in the Eastern Caribbean, and American Samoa and
Guam in the Pacific.
These territories, sometimes known as the
flag territories, are under U.S. sovereignty and. generally subject to U.S. laws.
Although ‘each enjoys a different type of
governmental
status--Puerto Rico
is
a commonwealth;
Guam and
the
Virgin Islands are governed by organic acts and American Samoa
by its local constitution--all are part of the United States.
The U.S. also exercises sovereignty over a number of largely
uninhabited islands, including Wake, Midway, Palmyra, Navassa
Johnston
Atoll,
Kingman Reef,
Baker,
Jarvis,
and
Howland. |
These smaller U.S. possessions are for the most part within the
administrative responsibility of the Department of the Interior
but some are administered either by the Department of Defense,
or the U.S. Coast Guard.
A general description of the territories and insular areas is found in appendix VIII.
The other major insular areas currently under U.S. administration are part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific.
Under
a 1947 United Nations (U.N.} agreement, the United States became
the administering authority for the islands known as Micronesia.
Today the Trust Territory is composed of four local governments:
the
Commonwealth
of
Northern
Mariana
Islands
(NMI),
the
Republic of Palau, the Federated States ot Micronesia (FSM), and
the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
These Micronesian states
are not under U.S. sovereignty.
Nevertheless, the United States
has administered these insular areas in a manner similar to its
flag territories.
The Pacific and Caribbean territorial and insular areas
play an important role in representing U.S. national security
interests.
Some territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, American
Samoa, and the Virgin Islands have represented American security
interests as members in the armed forces for almost a century.
In addition, defense installations in Puerto Rico, Guam, and
some of the Micronesian islands are important to U.S. defense
and security in the Caribbean, Asia, and the Pacific.
Ithis
report
addresses
‘policy
and
organizational
rounding the major territories and insular areas.
ler possessions are not included in our analysis.
issues
sur-
These smal-
2The NMI
is
included
in our
analysis as a flag territory
although technically it is still part of the Trust Territory.
5000208