US Navy Secretary To Visit Marshalls MAJURO, Marshall Islands (Marianas Variety, Jan. 27, 2014) — The United States secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, will visit Majuro later this week, the highest-ranking Defense Department official to visit Majuro in several years. He is scheduled to meet Marshall Islands President Christopher Loeak on Thursday and tour the nation’s sea patrol surveillance headquarters before departing for Kwajalein where he will stay overnight at the U.S. Army’s Reagan Test Site. From his Washington, D.C. base, Mabus oversees the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. Although neither have a presence in the Marshall Islands, the Navy operates the annual Pacific partnership mission that brings health services, civil construction teams, and donations to multiple Pacific islands — including the Marshall Islands, which was part of the Navy’s tour in 2013. Last year, the Marshall Islands signed an agreement with the Navy that expands on a “shiprider” pact with the U.S. Coast Guard, allowing Marshall Islands law enforcement personnel to travel on Navy vessels and the Navy to enforce marine security in this north Pacific nation’s exclusive economic zone that is spread across thousands of square miles of ocean. One issue that is expected to be raised by Marshall Islands leaders is their effort to gain funding to establish the region’s first commercial ocean thermal energy conversion or OTEC plant at Kwajalein Atoll, next to the Army’s missile testing range. The Loeak administration has talked to top-level U.S. military officials about the project and sought assurances from the Army that it will purchase electricity if the government can build the plant. Efforts are currently underway by the Marshall Islands to do a site feasibility study for Kwajalein. The Navy secretary’s website notes that Mabus has set the goal for the Navy and Marine Corps to obtain at least 50 percent of their energy from alternative sources by 2020.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 09:43:42 +0000
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