Micronesia

Students Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Micronesia
Micronesia is a country situated in the northern Pacific Ocean and hosting above 600 islands and many islets. The country shares a diverse cultural divide and linguistic lines from the east to the west. The land is rich of high volcanic islands and low-lying corals. This means that there is a diverse coverage of plant forms and atolls even in the poor soils. Each of the four countries making the larger Micronesia has their population center usually located in the elevated landmass. Further, the region experiences almost even mean annual temperature averaging 27 degrees Celsius. This means that the seasons are predictable throughout the year. The diverse local dialects and ecological features make the republic one of the major tourist attraction centers. The country, however, gets much of its revenue from the funding by the US government that comes under the Compact Act of Free Association. The secondary source of income is the tourism sector that is raising gradually, the fish exports and farming. The only hindrance to tourism is the remote locality and under structural development. The only other sources of revenue are the large offshore deposits of phosphate. Almost all other goods are imported making the republic a consumer society.
Some of the imported goods include food and foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuel and oil. And where the government officials are lobbying for more investment in the industrial and tourism sector, the country has remained a consumer society.

The republic’s traditions have been hugely influenced by the imported commodities which makes then conform to a single western culture. Nonetheless, the people still boast of maintained traditional dressing (loincloths), food preparation techniques, boatbuilding, carvings and construction. These are some of the traditions that can put the republic in an advantageous situation as regards tourism and revenue generation.
According to Matelski (1), the introduction of the F.S.M (Federal State of Micronesia) resolution that signifies the intent to seclude themselves from the compact of association with the US signifies major problems. Where the two states have started negotiations on the renewal of the compact after its expiry in 2023, the withdrawal of the aid by the US would mean that the highest percentage of the revenue is not available. The same US government as the major trading partners for the local agricultural produce and fish would mean that they also withdraw much of the support given to Micronesia which would, in turn, derail the import-export capacity. The government would be forced to collect more taxes from the poor natives so as to sustain the official operations and critical programs like the healthcare system. Once the taxing system is increased without introducing newer sources of income to improve people’s living standards, then the people are bound to resist the system. This would result in political or economic recess. The living standards from a consumer economy are bound to rise which would result in a poorer community. The friction between the major trading partners occurs when the country is unable to pay the debts. In most cases, the partner countries would break links until the state is on the ground again.
Further, if the compact with the US is broken, then the country is bound to fall in the hands of exploitative partners. These would take advantage to root the state of its resources including the beaches, minerals as well as misuse the people in poorly paid jobs (Matelski 3). The poor payment could result as the supply would be more than the demand. The effect of exploitative leadership is reduced revenue rates and increase failure of governmental institutions and public amenities such as the supply of the basic needs. As the country and the US continue discussing the move to part ways, the rest of the world is watching. This has made China and Japan position them as the immediate possible drivers. While China can help fund the governmental operations, the funding would not be in the form of aids or grants but as a loan. The interest rate for the loan is usually very high and may shoot within a short time. The same has been experienced in some of the developing countries in the African reign. In the end, the funder may reinstate itself to run the governmental pertain once the tax system is not enough to repay the loan. The result of such a move is a collision between the superpowers and the funder as they try to impinge moves to China to take over Micronesia’s management. This would also leave a great gap in the area of the key strategic interests for the US as the superpowers. Many other states would perceive it as a failing leader and China would, in turn, be reinstated as the best choice for grants and funds. The gaping strategic access by the US would mean a conflict with the other partners which could further result in feud engagements.
The Compact is a mildly known element in the matric web of relationships that extends the US’ global interest. In the wee of the world war, II America established links with the then freed Japanese Imperial winning parties. This resulted in the establishment of the TTPI (trust territories of the Pacific Island) by the United Nations and hence the US assumed oversight role. In the later years, they established and enforced the civil code and mechanisms that formed the basis of the governance in the current FSM. The move towards the regional autonomy and the establishment of the Marianas Commonwealth, however, commenced in the mid-60s. One of the key features of the Compact provides the chance to free important resources while maintaining security through a parliamentary maritime Surveillance. This is part of the reason why Mariana’s administration has experienced tension between the locals and the US government. Many of the atolls have since been used by the US military for nuclear weapons testing. This has since resulted in many diseases and abnormalities and part of the reason why the republic is highly dependent. The termination of the package would thus mean that the US is running away from managing the mess they have already generated and avoided the responsibility of developing the republic as part of their lands.
The best move by the Marianas is to ignore the discussion to terminate the compact and work towards strengthening their ties and lobbying for more grants. However, the administration should rethink their source of revenue and start implementing programs to be self-dependant. Further, the Marianas living in the US would lose their immigration status and work permits. This could result in possible losses in two ways. First, the federal benefits being provided would be withdrawn and the money the immigrants send home would reduce. Further, the security provided by the maritime would be withdrawn which would result in heightened insecurity.

Works Cited
Matelski, R. “America’S Micronesia Problem.” The Diplomat. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 Feb. 2018.