Guam's Governor Eddie Calvo is to push through plans to present a unified front to Washington on Guam's stalled military build-up, saying it's a way out of endemic poverty in the territory.
In a major address to Guam people, he attacked what he called fringe elements threatening the plan.
Sally Round reports.
"Eddie Calvo says Washington has been receiving mixed messages on the build-up which would see thousands of troops relocated from Japan. In his second State of the Island address, the Governor told the Guam legislature that he would issue an executive order to impanel the Guam First Commission advisory body which would present one voice in dealings with the federal government. He praised those who he said had set politics aside on the build-up which would end poverty for thousands drowning in debt and unhappiness. Mr Calvo stressed education as a way out of the poverty trap but also reiterated his intention to aggressively hold the federal government to account for money it owes the territory. He said Guam's poor shouldn't shoulder the burden of the federal system any longer."
