Life on Wake Island seems, much of the time, rather sedate. The blank “Flight Movement” board at this tiny airfield in the middle of the Pacific Ocean promises zero flights and no movement. However, every day or so, a US military plane touches down to refuel or deliver cargo, bringing a burst of activity to one of the world’s most remote places.
The minuscule coral atoll, which pops up unexpectedly from the ocean’s steel-gray expanse, seems an unlikely place to find a permanent military presence. It is located more than 3,500km west of Hawaii and four US troops live here year round.
Thanks to more than a century of military history and a changing power dynamic in the region, this speck of sand and stones will likely continue to pack an outsized strategic punch for America.
Photo: AFP
“There’s so much honor here on Wake,” US Air Force Captain Marc Bleha said, describing how the island saw one of the first US engagements of World War II when marines repelled a Japanese attack just days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. “It’s humbling to think back ... to when marines were defending the island. They were running from bunker to bunker.”
The Japanese came back days later, reinforced and better organized, and this time they took the island. Several US bunkers and other remnants of the conflict remain largely intact.
The coral beaches, once stained with wartime blood, are now strewn with plastic rubbish, grim evidence that parts of the Pacific have become a gyre of manmade waste. Bleha, who is on a year-long tour overseeing three enlisted men, ensures a permanent military presence on the island. All told, 85 people live here on a semi-permanent basis, contracted in one way or another to keep the island running.
After decades of relative calm across the Pacific region, Wake Island is taking on renewed strategic importance. China is aggressively growing its military and pushing its footprint deeper into the Pacific. Officials like to talk about the US’ Pacific presence as vital for “projecting power” into the region, where rivals like China are writing a narrative that US President Donald Trump and his tariff-imposing, “America First” agenda mean the US no longer cares about what happens there.
“Obviously I reject that,” US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joe Dunford told reporters traveling with him following a visit to Wake Island last month. “If you look at the health of our alliances in the region ... the evidence reflects anything other than a decline in Pacific power. We have enduring interests here, we have enduring commitment and an enduring presence in the Pacific.”
That presence is visible across the region, including on Wake and Guam — located 2,414km further west — and at a string of US bases in Japan, South Korea and elsewhere.
Wake Island also plays a key role in the US’ efforts to block a ballistic missile attack from countries such as North Korea. The US Missile Defense Agency uses the atoll to test its missile-interceptor systems designed to smash into a rocket headed toward US soil.
Dunford’s Pacific trip came on the heels of other visits by senior Trump administration officials, including US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, then-US secretary of state Rex Tillerson and Trump himself.
During his brief visit to Wake Island, Dunford, a US Marine Corps four-star general, paid his respects at a small monument to the US marines and sailors killed during Japan’s invasion and occupation.
The concrete memorial, topped with the corps’ globe-and-anchor motif, reads: “Enemy On Island, Situation In Doubt,” memorializing the radio transmission that the atoll commander sent his comrades in Hawaii during the Japanese invasion.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
Africa has established the continent’s first space agency to boost Earth observation and data sharing at a time when a more hostile global context is limiting the availability of climate and weather information. The African Space Agency opened its doors last month under the umbrella of the African Union and is headquartered in Cairo. The new organization, which is still being set up and hiring people in key positions, is to coordinate existing national space programs. It aims to improve the continent’s space infrastructure by launching satellites, setting up weather stations and making sure data can be shared across
RSS