Some CNMI legislators have expressed support for the deployment of a missile defence system in Guam to protect United States island territories, neighbouring Micronesian islands and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Guam Senate last month adopted a resolution calling for the US president and Congress to permanently station a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system and a Patriot Missile Defense System on Guam.
The president of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Senate, Ralph Torres, says it makes sense for a missile defence system to be based there.
Guam, which lies at the southern end of the Marianas archipelago, is home to some 160,000 US citizens and major military base installations of the US Navy and the US Air Force.
