The island of Pagan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. Photo: Peter J. Perez
A court in the Northern Marianas has placed under advisement a motion by the United States government to dismiss a lawsuit against its military plans in the territory.
Four groups are suing the Pentagon over the Navy's plans to relocate US Marines from Japan to Guam and to conduct live-fire training on two of the Northern Marianas' islands.
The groups - the Tiniana Women's Association, Guardians of Gani, PaganWatch, and the Centre for Biological Diversity - say the defence department has violated the National Environmental Policy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.
On Friday, a judge at the US District Court for the Northern Marianas set a status conference for the case for the 6th of April.
