Located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean (about 2 thousand islands). The total area is 1.8 thousand sq. km. Population - 120 thousand (1978), mostly Micronesians. The administrative center is located on the island of Ponape. The official language is English. Since the 17th century. and almost until the end of the 19th century. islands - a colony of Spain, In 1885 Germany, taking advantage of the weakening of Spain, seized the Marshall Islands, and in 1899 bought the Caroline and Mariana Islands from her. In 1914, Japanese troops occupied the islands, and in 1919 the League of Nations issued Japan a mandate to govern them. During the Second World War, the islands were occupied by the United States, and since 1947 they have been a United Nations Trust Territory under US administration. All the legislative and executive power on the islands was transferred into the hands of the High Commissioner, appointed by the President of the United States with the approval of the Senate and accountable to the Secretary of the Interior of the United States. In 1964, the Congress of Micronesia (consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives) was established as a local legislative body. However, this body has extremely limited rights and is entirely controlled by the American administration. Since 1969, negotiations have been under way between the US government and a delegation from the Micronesian Congress on changing the status of the Trust Territory. In an effort to retain control over Micronesny, the American authorities carried out in the second half of the 70s. a number of administrative measures that grossly violate UN Charter Regarding Trust Territories. They imposed the status of "commonwealth within the framework of a political alliance with the United States" on the Mariana Islands, which, in fact, turned them into the possession of the United States. Three other island groups - the West Carolina (Palau archipelago), the Central and East Carolina (Yap, Truk, Ponape islands) and the Marshall Islands received the status of "free association" with the United States, which in fact means their annexation by Washington outright. These actions by the United States run counter to the trusteeship agreement, according to which the question of the political status of the Micronesian Islands can only be resolved by the UN after the expiration of the US custody period in 1981. Most of the land area is in the hands of the Americans, the indigenous people own only about 40% of the land. The main occupation of the population is the cultivation of the coconut tree and the production of copra, which is the main export commodity. Sugar cane and vegetables are also grown, and fishing is developed. The islands have US military and naval facilities and bases. On the archipelagos of Mariansky and Palau, large ports are being created for the basing of nuclear submarines "Trident", airfields for strategic aviation, oil storage facilities, training grounds, warehouses of military materials. A number of atolls of the Marshall Islands were tested atomic and hydrogen bombs, and now they serve as a testing ground for American ballistic missiles.
