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Guam hosts talks on military buildup

HAGATNA, Guam — U.S. representatives and business leaders converged on Guam this week as preparations for a $15 billion military buildup of the U.S. island territory kick into high gear.

About 1,200 businessmen and women from Australia to Japan and New York to San Francisco gathered in Guam hotels to learn how they could profit from the buildup.

The U.S. and Japanese governments plan to spend a combined $10 billion moving 8,000 Marines to Guam from the southern Japanese island of Okinawa by 2012.

The Navy and Air Force also plan infrastructure upgrades on Guam that are expected to cost about $5 billion.

The buildup comes as the U.S. military looks to Guam to play a bigger role in U.S. defense strategy, given the isle’s proximity to potential security flashpoints in Taiwan and the Korean peninsula.

“Guam is very, very important to our country,” said Rep. Ike Shelton, D-Mo., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, in a brief statement as the delegation he led stepped off a U.S. government plane.

The lawmakers will tour Air Force, Navy and National Guard facilities on the island. They will also visit the industry forum.

“It’s a good sign that you have the chairman of the Armed Services Committee come here to be able to listen, look and see,” said Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va.

Reps. John Spratt Jr., R-S.C., Robin Hayes, D-N.C., Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., have also joined the delegation.

Guam’s nonvoting delegate to Congress, Madeleine Bordallo, is with them.

“This visit will help them better understand Guam’s strategic importance in the Asia-Pacific region and the challenges facing our community,” Bordallo said.

Guam officials want the congressional visitors to hear the territorial government’s requests for federal financial assistance to upgrade the island’s ports, power and water plants.

Local small-business owner Joey Lopez, who attended the industry forum, said he hopes to learn more about how small businesses can benefit from the buildup.

One major disadvantage small businesses have compared to big defense contractors is the small entrepreneurs’ lack of deep pockets to meet contracting requirements, such as performance bonds.

But Lopez hopes there’s a way for small businesses to offer their services to the military directly instead of having to settle for subcontracts from a bigger contractor.

Information from Pacific Daily News: http://www.guampdn.com