America’s militarisation of the western Pacific island threatens its ecosystem, culture and history, a plea before the UN argues

“It’s hard to pinpoint exactly the moment one … starts to see the great game afoot,” Julian Aguon says, before pausing, and catching himself.

“For me, it came into sharp focus in 2005, when the US struck a bilateral agreement with Japan to move thousands of marines from Okinawa to Guam. It was just announced. That’s how these things go, they’re just flung from high heaven. I decided to go to law school right then and there: the law was being weaponised against my people.”

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