24 Jun 2011

Guam military build-up still a question of when not if says governor

12:01 pm on 24 June 2011

Guam's governor Eddie Calvo is welcoming a delay to the timeline for transferring United States marines to the US territory from their base in Japan.

The US government indicated last year that the 2014 deadline for the relocation of about 8,000 marines and their approximately 9,000 dependents was unachievable.

It has now agreed with Japan that the relocation, which is part of a broader 2006 accord to reorganise American troops in Japan, will occur as soon as possible after 2014.

Mr Calvo's deputy press secretary, Phillip Leon Guerrero, says while there may have been some changes to the original build-up proposal, there's no question of it not happening.

"What is for certain is that there will be a build-up on Guam, that it will entail marines coming to Guam and that there will be a phase in the future in which there will be increased construction, increased military construction and that will have positive economic effects for the island."

Phillip Leon Guerrero says the delay will ease the burden on local resources and infrastucture.