By Michael Walsh*
Hagåtña, Guam Photo: Wikipedia
Opinion - The United States government needs to take immediate action to increase the local power capacity on Guam, and American media outlets should be heaping coals of fire on the Biden Administration and US Congress until that happens.
When President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster over the frequent power outages that have seriously damaged the South African economy, it was widely covered by American media outlets.
When the Pacific Island Times reported, "Frequent power outages are becoming a deplorable norm for Guam, disrupting residents' normal routines," it was not.
This dichotomy reflects a morally problematic state of affairs.
When there is load shedding in South Africa, it makes national headlines.
When it happens in Guam, no one seems to pay much attention on the US mainland.
This is despite the fact that individuals born on Guam acquire US citizenship at birth.
This reveals the selection bias of American news outlets.
It also speaks volumes about what is wrong with America's engagement in the Pacific.
In The New York Times Magazine, Sarah Topol recently argued that major power competition is "placing the burdens of imperial power on the nation's most ignored and underrepresented citizens."
The ongoing power outages serve as yet another case in point.
Across the US, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are extremely skeptical about whether American democracy is working well.
Across the Pacific Islands, US allies and partners are not convinced that the region is really a priority for the US government.
Guam's ongoing power outages will reinforce those concerns.
From the perspective of US national security and foreign policy interests: what is happening in Nauru matters, what is happening in South Africa matters.
What is happening in Guam might matter even more.
*Michael Walsh is an affiliate of Georgetown School of Foreign Service
