Officially the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), this country of tiny, scattered islands in the Western Pacific is now frequently referred to just as “Micronesia,” even though that term correctly refers to a geographical region that includes the Mariana Islands, Palau, the Marshalls, the Gilberts, and Nauru. Except for the latter two and Guam in the Marianas, these islands were part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, established after World War II by the United Nations but administered by the United States beginning in 1947. The FSM consists of four states: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae. These four out of the original seven Trust Territory districts are together for one reason—the United States had no plans for military bases in any of them. Abandoned by those areas where the United States either had or planned to have military bases—the Marshalls, Palau, and the Northern Marianas—the four remaining “states” were more or less forced to stick together, having nothing to bargain with except allowing the United States to prevent their location from being exploited by powers unfriendly to the United States. More than 60 years later,  they are still getting money from the United States. Whether they can survive when that income source ends is questionable. Although blessed with breathtaking scenery, several distinct cultures and languages make unity difficult, and the possibility remains that the FSM may not last, as different states decide to go their own way.

 

Note: According to a study conducted by the United Nations World Health Western Pacific Regional office and the London-based International Obesity Task Force, the FSM was recently listed as second in the world in highest percentage of overweight adults.

 

Location: The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), including the states of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae, is located in the Western Pacific and consists of several groups of scattered islands stretching almost 3000 kilometers from east to west, yet containing only 702 square kilometers of dry land. To the east is the Marshall Islands, to the north Guam and the Mariana Islands, to the west is Palau, and to the south is Papua New Guinea.

 

Population: 107,000 (2008)

 

Ethnic Groups: among the many groups are Kosraean, Mwoakilloan, Pingalapese, Pohnpeian, Polynesian (Nukuoro and Kapingamorangi), Mortlockese, Lagoon Chuukese, Western Chuukese, Hall Island Chuukese, Satawalese, Woleaian, Ulithian, and Yapese. 

 

Languages: Kosraean, Mwoakilloan, Pohnpeian, Polynesian (Nukuoro & Kapingamorangi), Lagoon Chuukese, Mortlockese, Western Chuukese, Satawalese, Woleaian, Ulithian, and Yapese. 

 

Religions: Islanders are fairly evenly divided between Roman Catholic and various Protestant churches. However, Kosrae is entirely Protestant, and outer island Yap entirely Catholic. 

 

The history of Micronesia is a lot more complex than one would think. The islands were settled about 2,700 years ago by Austronesian groups migrating up from Melanesia. The Spanish claimed the islands based on their early forays into the region but never really established themselves anywhere except Pohnpei. The Pohnpieans rebelled and drove the Spaniards out, after which the Spanish pretty much left the islands alone, aside from some minimal activity in Yap, preferring to concentrate on their colony in the Mariana Islands.  Pohnpei and Kosrae became favorite stops for whalers, and beachcomber communities developed in both. One beachcomber named David O’Keefe established himself in Yap and got the Yapese to make copra by offering them rides in his ship to go to Palau to quarry their unique stone money. Most outsiders avoided Chuuk, known for a while as Truk.   After the Spanish-American War the islands were sold by Spain to Germany. The Germans established themselves in all the groups, even Chuuk. During World War I the Japanese, as members of the Allies, occupied the German-held islands in Micronesia. After the war the League of Nations legitimized Japanese control by making the islands a Mandated Territory. After the League criticized Japan for its attacks on China in the 1920s, Japan quit the league and fortified the islands. During WWII United States forces bombed the islands frequently, and after the war took control from the defeated Japanese.

The islands, along with the Marshalls, Palau, and the Northern Marianas, were put into the trust territory system of the United Nations. However, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a special strategic trust territory set up through the UN Security Council, where the United States has a veto. Accused of neglect, in the 1960s, the United States increased funding for the islands and moved the people away from a subsistence lifestyle, making them dependent on cash from the United States. Meanwhile, different parts of the Trust Territory began to split up, cutting their own deals with the United States with regard to future status. Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae were left to stick together as the FSM. In 1979 a “free association” status was created and fully implemented in 1986. The United States still maintains a potential veto over Micronesian foreign affairs, but the islanders get money from the US and are allowed to migrate to the United States. Thousands have. Meanwhile, the free association has evolved into a de facto independence, and Micronesia does have diplomatic relations with several nations.

 

Since being allowed entry into the United States in 1986, with permission to work, thousands of Micronesians have migrated. This has helped relieve the small islands of its burgeoning population which exploded beginning in the 1970s. It also provides cash for the islanders who stay behind in the form of remittances from relatives who have migrated. The Micronesians have established large communities on the US Territory of Guam and the nearby US Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. They have also settled in significant numbers in Hawaii. Census data is limited and hampered by the fact that Palauans, Chamorros, and Marshallese are also considered Micronesians, but recently Micronesians from the FSM have begun moving to the mainland United States and establishing small but close knit communities on the West Coast and in such far-flung states as Missouri and Florida, among others. Within the FSM itself are numbers of Filipinos, Chinese, and Americans who live and work there.       

 

The United States only had relations with the various colonial rulers of the islands but never the islanders themselves. The United States, as were all countries, was kept out of Micronesia by the Japanese in the 1920s and 1930s. After WWII the United States became the administrating authority of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands of which the FSM groups were part. The purpose of Trust Territories, from the United Nations standpoint, was for more advanced countries to take care of places that had been League of Nations mandated territories which meant they had been colonies of the losers of WWI, Germany and Turkey. The administering nation was supposed to prepare the trust territories for self-rule. However, the United States made little effort in that area until the early 1970s, after a huge government bureaucracy, providing many jobs all paid for by the United States, had already been developed. Various future status options were discussed, including independence, statehood, commonwealth, and free association. Within the Trust Territory, the Northern Marianas was the most modernized and was interested in a more permanent tie to the United States. It separated from the other islands to pursue a commonwealth covenant. Palau and the Marshalls liked the idea of free association, but wanted a deal separate from the other island groups. The United States then negotiated with FSM leaders to draft a compact of free association.

 

Free Association was proclaimed as a partial independence. The islanders would get to control their local government; they would be defended by the US military; they would receive money from the United States for operations, capital improvement, and economic development; and they would get the right to migrate to the United States or any US Territory. The United States, in turn, would get “denial rights,” or the right to deny certain countries access and activity in the islands. The finances for the original pact were to last for 15 years, by which time the FSM economy was supposed to be developed enough to support the local governments without US aid. That didn’t happen. In 2004 a new financial agreement was enacted, with about $1.8 billion to be given by the United States over a 20-year period. Much of that will go into a trust fund, and strict controls on spending have been instituted by the United States to try to reduce or even eliminate the massive corruption that has plagued island governments. However, many Micronesians consider the financial controls unduly harsh and punitive.

The United States is currently the main supplier of the funds the FSM needs to even exist. New strict controls on spending have reduced overt corruption and prevented money from being misspent. However sometimes the money doesn’t get spent at all, even for the intended project, and gets returned. The goal is to get the FSM financially independent by 2023, when the current funding will end. Whether the interest from the trust fund will be enough to support the FSM in the 2020s and beyond is unclear.

The areas most concerned with Micronesia are the US territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and the state of Hawaii. These are the areas most affected by Micronesian immigration. In Guam, for example, Micronesian immigrants are sending thousands of students to local schools and regularly flood the only public hospital’s emergency room, without insurance, for everything from truly life threatening illnesses to simple colds. The United States promised to compensate territories and states for what has come to be called “compact impact,” or the impact of the compacts of free association on various areas in the Untied States or its territories. However, the United States usually provides money at a much lower figure than Guam, Saipan, or Hawaii request. For their part, these US Territories and Hawaii feel the compact has resulted in unfunded mandates, as the Micronesians access various public services and whichever welfare programs they can qualify for. 

In 2007, the United States imported $4 million worth of goods from Micronesia with fish providing 97% of the total. U.S. imports of Micronesian clothing, which used to be mildly significant, all but ceased after 2005. On the other hand, U.S. exports to Micronesia in 2007 totals $37.8 million. The most important exports were trucks, boat parts and rice and other foods. Many US programs are administered in the islands, particularly in education and health. These are, however, all under the watchful eye of the United States.

With regards to the United States, the main controversy is the new tight controls the United States has placed on spending in an attempt to prevent corruption that had been rampant. On Pohnpei, there has also been concern over new fuel contracts signed with Mobil Oil. There is worry over the future adequacy of fuel supply and also some environmental concerns. 

Controversy in Mobil Oil Micronesia Acquisition Plan (by Bill Jaynes, Kaselehlie Press)

 

The biggest controversy in the FSM is whether or not it will stay together. Yap, which has the best financial record and seems to always manage to live within its means, has been considering breaking away from the FSM and joining Palau. The Yapese and Palauans have a long history of association and combining might work. It might be beneficial for Yap since it will allow them to leave the FSM and join a more efficient entity in Palau, but how it will benefit Palau is not clear. Pohnpei, which narrowly voted not to join the FSM but was obligated to do so because the other three states voted for it, is considering breaking away and becoming a separate and independent entity. They might stay combined with Kosrae, with whom they have a long history of association and with whom they were combined as one district of the old Trust Territory. That would leave Chuuk to fend for itself. Chuuk has the biggest population and the fewest resources and has the reputation for being the most corrupt. Chuuk feels it doesn’t get a proportional share of revenues considering its large population and therefore can’t make headway on solving its many problems.

Suzanne K. Hale                       25 Aug-2004 to August 1, 2007

Larry Miles Dinger                    January 14, 2002 to August 2, 2004

Diane Watson                                       October 19, 1999 to January 15, 2002

Cheryl A. Martin                      August 1996 to October 1999

March Fong Eu                         May 18, 1994 to July 5, 1996

Aurelia E. Brazeal                     September 18, 1990 to July 6, 1993

Michael G. Wygant                   October 2, 1987 to May 29, 1990