The USS Milius, a navy guided missile destroyer, making a port visit to Saipan coming from South Korea. The port call comes amid rising tensions in the region and at the request of the CNMI administration.
The USS Milius on its third port call to Saipan. Commander Leif Gunderson said, "The crew of Milius has been out operating in the Indo-Pacific region for the past couple of months and really doing a lot of work out there for presence and security in the region."
The ship, homeported in Japan, arrived on May 9 and leaves Friday with over 350 military personnel. The ship carrying on its mission amid increased tension in the region.
"We did do a Taiwan strait transit recently," he said.
"These port visits offer us an opportunity to not only replenish the ship and do maintenance, but also give the crew an opportunity for rest and recovery," he said.
CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios and Lt. Gov. David Apatang toured the ship Thursday morning. "We look forward to more presence of our naval ships into Saipan and the CNMI and we thank them for keeping us safe in the region," said Palacios, with Apatang adding, "When you leave here can you radio the other ship to stop by here also? Say, 'You had a great time here, so it is your turn,'".
The administration is calling for more port visits to boost the local economy after pivoting away from the Chinese tourism market.
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