Office of Insular Affairs
Encyclopedia : O : OF : OFF : Office of Insular Affairs
The Office of Insular Affairs is a unit of the United States Department of the Interior that manages several United States possessions. Currently, it has administrative responsibility for coordinating federal policy in the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and oversight of federal programs and funds in the freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.
Some ambiguity exists regarding the role of the Office of Insular Affairs in relation to some of the technically independent states of the Pacific. The US prefers to deal substantially with former US trust territories such as the Republic of Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands via its Office of Insular Affairs, rather than through the State Department. This begs the question whether from a de facto perspective the US Government truly regards these small countries as independent, despite their nominal and de jure status as such.
In addition, the territorial claim [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/wq.html#Issues ] by the Republic of the Marshall Islands on Wake Atoll leaves a certain amount of ambiguity regarding the actual or hypothetical role of the US military, responsible under agreement for the defence of Marshallese territory, in the event of any strategic crisis or hostilities involving Wake. The Atoll was formally annexed by the US in the 19th century and is still administered by the Office of Insular Affairs at the US Department of the Interior.
It may be added that US-Marhsallese relations are in general considered to be very good.
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