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APP WINTER CONFERENCE
Spotlight on the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
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reathtaking beaches … small Island, big history … world’s best destination for diving … These are just a few of the phrases you’ll come across when searching for information about the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the destination of the APP’s 2022 Winter Conference, location of the Port of Saipan and home to APP’s new President, Kimberlyn King-Hinds. It’s only fitting then, to shine a spotlight on the CNMI in anticipation of the APP’s coming year of activities.
A primer on the CMNI
The Northern Mariana Islands has a rich history that can be traced as far back as 2000 BC with settlers arriving from the Philippines and Indonesia. Known as Chamorro, it was these early residents who built the giant pillars of latte stones that have survived to this day. Claimed as a Spanish territory in the early 16th century by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (sailing under a Spanish flag), the Islands received their modern name in 1668 as a tribute to Spanish king Philip IV’s widow, Maria Anna.
Saipan at night.
The Northern Mariana Islands has a rich history that can be traced as far back as 2000 BC with settlers arriving from the Philippines and Indonesia. At the turn of the 19th century, the Islands fell under German control before serving as a Japanese outpost during World War I and World War II. During one of the most significant battles of WWII — the Battle of Saipan — the U.S. defeated Japanese troops and established a strategic base for U.S. forces. Following Japan’s defeat, the U.S. was entrusted to administer the Islands as part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. During the 1970s, NMI achieved commonwealth status with the U.S. While a new government and constitution were partially put in place in 1978, it wasn’t until 1986 that the Islands officially fell under U.S. sovereignty with the NMI constitution becoming fully effective at that time. Today, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands consist of 14 islands, running north-south over
roughly 375 miles. Guam, that chose to remain as a separate territory, lies to the south. The Islands are found about 1,500 miles east of the Philippines, and mid-way between Japan and New Zealand. To the east of the Islands lies the Marianas Trench – the deepest point in the world’s oceans. Lightly populated through the northern islands, the three southern-most islands — Saipan, Tinian, and Rota — make up the majority of CNMI’s population and economic activity. As the largest island and with more than 90 percent of the CNMI population (estimated at approximately 52,000 in 2021), Saipan serves as the capital and seat of the government. With tourism as the main contributor to the CNMI economy, impacts from the pandemic as well as Typhoon Soudelor in 2015 and Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018 have been significant. Pre-dating the pandemic, the CNMI
