evidence: In 1973, the Marshall Islands claimed Wake Island based on the oral legends, although the US has not recognized these claims. In 1974, the US military took exclusive control of the island’s airstrip and restricted visitors. In 1978, Bikini Islanders from the Marshall Islands, who were evacuated in the 1950s and 1960s because of US nuclear tests, considered rehoming on Wake Island, but the US military rejected that plan. Since the 1970s, the island has been important for missile defense testing. In 2009, Wake Island was included in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. [...] US-Marshall Islands: in May 2016, the Marshall Islands filed a declaration of authority with the UN over Wake Island, which is currently a US territory, reaffirming that it considers Wake Island part of its territory (the Marshall Islands refer to Wake as Enen Kio or Eneen Kio, meaning Island of the Kio Flower); control over Wake Island would drastically increase the Marshall Islands’ exclusive economic zone