It is sandwiched between the North Bismarck Plate and the South Bismarck Plate.

The island is in what was the forearc basin associated with the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the North Bismarck Plate.

The North Bismarck Plate is a small tectonic plate located in the Bismarck Sea off the northeast coast of New Guinea.

The Kilinailai Trench, which looks as if it is a continuation of the Manus Trench, marks the boundary between the Pacific and North Bismarck Plates.

Manus Trench is a trench delineating the oceanic boundary between the Caroline Plate and North Bismarck Plates, in Papua New Guinea.

GPS data shows the South Bismarck plate, though north of the Australian plate boundary, is being pushed by Australia in a northerly direction while the North Bismarck Plate is being dragged by the Pacific plate easterly.