How United States Asia Pacific strategy will curtail China’s influence?
The United States and Pacific leaders have reached a nine-point statement on the US-Pacific partnership as Washington hosts its first summit with leaders from the Pacific island nations. On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced more than $810 million in expanded programs to help the Pacific Islands as the historic summit entered its second day. The US has committed more than $1.5 billion to support the Pacific Islands over the past decade, according to a senior administration official.
The US also pledged to recognize the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign states after appropriate consultations. While both the Cook Islands and Niue have full constitutional independence from New Zealand and operate as independent countries, the US considers them self-governing territories and has not established formal diplomatic relations. Biden appoints first U.S. envoy to Pacific Islands Regional Forum. USAID will restore its mission in Suva, Fiji by September 2023.
“The safety of America, frankly, and the world depend on your safety and the safety of the Pacific islands,” Biden said during remarks to Pacific State Department leaders. Biden added that the new US aid aims to ensure “a free and open, stable and prosperous, resilient and safe Indo-Pacific region.”
Washington’s plan to deepen diplomatic engagement with the Pacific comes as concerns over China’s growing influence in the region increase.
Previously, the Solomon Islands had indicated that they did not sign a joint statement during the high-profile meeting, just five months after signing a security agreement with China. “China has tried to establish military ties with some of these [Pacific Island] countries in at least some places,” said Chris Johnstone, senior adviser at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Johnstone said there was evidence that the government in Beijing had searched for real military bases in some of those countries. Among new initiatives detailed in the United States-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the United States will invest $20 million to boost tourism in the Solomon Islands and reduce poverty in the island nation.
Under the new agreement, the United States will launch a new trade and investment dialogue with Pacific island nations, improve maritime security, and provide up to $3.5 million over five years to improve the region’s internet connectivity and support cybersecurity.
Earlier this month, the Marshall Islands suspended talks with US officials on renewing the two countries’ strategic partnership, protesting the US failure to address the health and environmental impact of nuclear testing. Americans in the region in the 1940s and 1950s. There is no specific mention of nuclear inheritance issues in the US-Pacific declaration.
The Marshall Islands, Palau, and Micronesia are the so-called Freely Associated States (FAS) that have concluded treaties with the United States. The current agreements expire in September 2023 for the Marshall Islands and Micronesia and a year later for Palau.
Under the expiring treaties known as the Compacts of Free Association, the three Pacific countries receive grants and security guarantees from the United States government. FAS citizens can live and work in the United States without a visa. In return, the United States has the right to build military bases in these three island nations and can deny outsiders access to those countries’ waters, airspace, and land. The United States expects negotiations on all three Pacts to be concluded by the end of this year.
BREAKING: Members of a US Senate committee said Thursday they are considering new rules to block investments in China’s hi-tech sectors. #USChina #politics #US #China pic.twitter.com/qwdFt2HCt3
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