> Else all those little island bases would be quiet places like so many other small islands that dot the oceans. Most of those "quiet places" in the Pacific ar

> Else all those little island bases would be quiet places like so many other small islands that dot the oceans. Most of those "quiet places" in the Pacific are in free association with the United States. They still "act as bases" in return for the United States offering guaranteed protection and sovereignty. So I'm not quite sure what your comparison point is supposed to be: a) places that ended up under US possession after the Spanish-American war and are now full of American citizens (barring one specific example that still exists for very racist reasons) after being a part of the US for over a century or b) places that willingly lend themselves a similar situation in exchange for protection from (what they consider) worse options.