Washington renovates an abandoned military airport from which the plane that bombed Hiroshima took off

The US Army is renovating an abandoned military airfield on the small island of Tinian in the Pacific Ocean, from which the plane that dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima took off on the morning of August 6, 1945.

The United States is investing billions of dollars in new strategic locations in order to fight China's growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region and in alternative military bases that it can use in the event of an attack on its main facilities.

This policy, which Washington is pursuing with a “sense of urgency,” according to it, is a response to Beijing’s similar policy, which has been based for years on converting small islands into military bases in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

A spokesman for the US Pacific Air Forces told Agence France-Presse: “At a time when China is working to build its runways from scratch, the rehabilitation of airfields from World War II has given the US Air Forces in the Pacific a way to quickly establish infrastructure in the region.”

In American Tinian near Guam, the historic airport located in the north of the island has “a large area under a lot of weeds,” as General Kenneth Wilsback, commander of the US Air Forces in the Pacific, told the Japanese newspaper “Nikkei” that they “will remove these plants from now until next summer in order to Create a large base.

The US Air Force, which launched maintenance work near the current civilian airport on Tinian, is working to renovate what was the most important airport in the world in 1945.

In that era, dozens of American B-29 planes took turns at six take-off and landing runways at Tinian, 2,300 kilometers south of Japan, to bomb the Japanese Empire.

After the United States seized the island from the Japanese, an advanced military base was hastily built and chosen to use the first nuclear bombs.

From this island located in the Mariana Archipelago, the two planes that dropped the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” bombs took off on August 6 and 9, 1945, killing more than 200,000 people and bringing Japan to its knees.

12 new defensive positions

After nearly 80 years, the bulldozers returned to Tinian, this time setting their sights on Beijing.

In 2022, the document outlining the US military's strategy for the coming years noted that "China's increasingly coercive and aggressive project to reshape the Indo-Pacific region" represented "the greatest and most dangerous challenge to the national security of the United States."

In the past three years, the annual budget allocated to US military construction in the Asia-Pacific region has doubled, rising from $1.8 billion in 2020 to $3.6 billion in 2023, according to a report issued by the Congressional Research Center.

The approach adopted by the Pentagon is clear and focuses on increasing bases to increase flexibility so that American forces are able to operate outside the large American bases located in Japan, South Korea, and the island of Guam.

Since 2011, “the United States has negotiated access to 12 new defense sites in the Philippines and Australia, including many sites dating back to World War II,” according to the congressional report.

Runway renovation work is expected to be completed within two years, as is fuel tank construction work to “ensure the ability to achieve mission objectives in the event that Andersen Air Force Base in Guam or other locations in the Western Pacific becomes inaccessible,” according to US Army financial documents issued by The budget for these projects is set at no less than $162 million.

Canada denies Israeli allegations about supporting "voluntary immigration" of Palestinians

Canada denied what was reported by Hebrew media that Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Mark Miller stated, during his visit to Tel Aviv a few days ago, Ottawa’s support for the voluntary immigration of Palestinians to his country.

Canadian government communications advisor Jeffrey MacDonald said that Ottawa is working with its partners in the region to evacuate its citizens, Canadian residency holders, and their family members who meet the necessary conditions from the Gaza Strip and is providing the necessary facilities in this regard.

He added that Canada will launch an immigration program that will allow residents of the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives to apply for a temporary visa, with priority given to their applications and evaluation processes.

MacDonald denied the validity of what was circulated in the Hebrew media that the Canadian Minister of Immigration declared his country’s support for the “voluntary immigration” of Palestinians to Canada, stressing that “this news is false and has no truth.”

The communications advisor's response came after the Hebrew newspaper "Israel Hayom" reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a recent meeting with Likud Party representatives in the Knesset (Parliament) that "Our problem is the countries that are ready to receive refugees. We are working to solve this problem."

In his speech during the meeting, Representative Danny Danon touched on the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, pointing out that the Canadian Minister of Immigration spoke publicly about the matter during his visit to Tel Aviv.

The representative called for the formation of a team concerned with the migration of Palestinians to other countries, to which Netanyahu responded by saying: “We are working for this.”

The war on the Gaza Strip has entered its 86th day, as clashes continue amid  intense Israeli bombing  of cities and governorates north and south of the Strip amid a humanitarian and health catastrophe, coinciding with the escalation on the Lebanon and Yemen fronts.