SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Island — The first nine delegates to a national Republican convention from the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas say they'll all be voting for Sen. John McCain, although they won't be able to vote for him in November.

Some of the delegates elected at a party convention Saturday said they're convinced the former Vietnam War prisoner can deliver better times for the far-flung U.S. territories in the Pacific.

The islands are one of three Pacific territories each sending nine delegates to the convention. American Samoa, across the international dateline from Saipan, was picking most of its GOP delegates later Saturday and Guam is set to make its selection March 8.

Tom Pangelinan, territorial GOP chairman and one of the Marianas delegates, said all the delegates decided to vote as a team for McCain.

"He's very knowledgeable about the islands. That's basically the rational behind our vote. We want to develop a symbiotic relationship with the U.S.," Pangelinan said in an interview.

Bo Palacios, 23, another delegate to the convention, said he believes McCain is the right person to be America's next president. A graduate of International Affairs at George Washington University, Palacios volunteered his time campaigning for McCain.

"I think McCain is the most qualified person for the job. He knows the islands. He's a leader in economic revival and he has the commitment to win the war," said Palacios.

Mary Lou Ada, another delegate, said McCain has a proven track record to lead the nation back to the right path.

She said the islands need more funding for education and capital improvements.

This is the first time that the GOP on Saipan is participating in any U.S. election. The group was admitted to the national GOP after the 2004 election.

Residents of U.S. Pacific island U.S. territories do not vote in the presidential election.

Ana Teregeyo, vice chair of the island GOP, said not a lot of Americans know that the Northern Marianas is part of the U.S. political family but McCain does.

"Were so far away in the Pacific. Most of them (Americans) don't even know that we're part of the United States," she said. "With him as president, I feel that we will have a better chance of being heard in Washington, D.C."

A former Japanese territory, the Northern Marianas include 14 islands in the Pacific. Islanders voted to become a commonwealth of the U.S. and residents entered into a Covenant Agreement in 1976 that tied them to America politically.

But it wasn't until 1986 that the Northern Marianas residents became U.S. citizens through an executive order by then-President Reagan.

The islands had been self-governing since 1976 but there had been attempts to take over its control on its borders and immigration system.

A bill is currently pending in the U.S. Senate that would federalize the islands' immigration system and give it nonvoting representation in Congress similar to those of American Samoa and Guam.

The islands are home to more than 20,000 migrant workers, mostly from the Philippines and China.