[marron]

Hawaii will never be independent. It will be owned by the US, or by someone else. It will never be independent.

[wideawake]

Correct. Whoever controls Hawaii controls the Pacific.

Hawaii was made part of the US because otherwise it would have been part of the British Empire or Russia (I'm not kidding - there was a Russian fort on Kauai).

An independent Hawaii would become a Chinese satellite very quickly.