The US military views Chinese-backed casinos in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as a threat to its operations in the region, according to a new government report.

Last week, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) released a report titled China’s Engagement in the Pacific Islands: Implications for the United States that expressed concern over Chinese-run gaming venues on the CNMI islands of Saipan and Tinian.

Specifically, the USCC claimed that Chinese investors’ casinos in the CNMI “could complicate U.S. Department of Defense plans in CNMI for extensive training and exercises resulting from the recent relocation of Marines from Okinawa, Japan.”

The report goes on to call the CNMI “a strategic asset for the US military” and claims that “as China increases its economic engagement, Pacific Island countries may feel more beholden to Beijing and side with it at international fora.”