Nathan News

SYDNEY, Australia — The United States and 14 Pacific island nations signed a broad partnership agreement Thursday at a summit in Washington, putting climate change, economic growth and strengthening security ties at the center of a American push to counter Chinese influence in the region.

“Much of our world’s history is going to be written in the Indo-Pacific over the years and decades to come,” President Biden said during a meeting with island leaders. “And the Pacific Islands are a vital voice in shaping the future.”

“The security of America, quite frankly, and of the world,” he added, “depends on your security and the security of the Pacific Islands.”

His comments – and his promise of increased funding and cooperation from the United States – reflected a realization that has only recently become more urgent in Washington: that China has made significant inroads in the island chains of the North and South Pacific, where thousands of Americans fought and died in World War II, and America must catch up.

This week’s summit was first announced shortly after the Solomon Islands signed a security deal in April with Beijing that opened the door to Chinese law enforcement training and a possible takeover. on foot for the Chinese security forces.

This deal could end up being a high point for China, which is viewed with more skepticism across the Pacific than it was just a few years ago, but sensitivities around China’s foreign policy priorities China still seemed to hover above the Washington summit.

Manasseh Sogavare, the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, initially refused to sign the partnership agreement, in what critics described as a nod to Beijing. His signature and those of the other leaders only landed on the statement after a provision mentioning Taiwan, an island democracy that China considers a breakaway province, was scratched from the draft.

In briefings, White House officials said the United States was committed to engaging with countries in the region on complex issues. They pointed out that the summit produced additional partnership opportunities and commitments beyond the recent promise of three new US embassies, in Tonga, Solomon Islands and Kiribati.

The United States will invest more than $810 million in expanded programs for the Pacific Islands, in addition to more than $1.5 billion provided over the past decade, according to a White House fact sheet. .

Much of the money would go towards climate resilience and maritime security, including a $600 million request from Congress tied to a decades-old fishing treaty that allows the United States to catch fish. tuna in South Pacific waters.

But the package also includes some interesting goodies – a $20 million grant to the Solomon Islands for tourism development, $3.5 million for digital connectivity in the country and $2.8 million for force training. of the order run by the FBI.

Initially restricted to three Pacific island nations, law enforcement assistance will now be extended to six: Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomons.

Peace Corps volunteers will also return to Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu, while other countries are also being considered for the program. And the United States, according to the White House, is also engaged in bilateral negotiations with Fiji on a defense cooperation agreement, and will soon begin talks with Papua New Guinea.

The region’s leaders seemed mostly happy with the summit. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has welcomed Pacific leaders to the red carpet for nearly a decade. The Biden charm offensive appeared to be more laid back.

Regional analysts said US aid, spread across so many countries, would be far from transformative.

“The dilemma, as always, is how to get American private companies to invest more in the Pacific,” said Graeme Smith, a Pacific island expert at the Australian National University. “You can turn on the military tap and, with congressional approval, the aid tap, but unlike China, they can’t push their companies to engage in the region.”

Anna Powles, senior lecturer in security studies at Massey University in New Zealand, noted that announcements of the initiatives were a bit thin on administrative details.

One of the main complaints about American diplomacy in the Pacific is that it is too bogged down in bureaucratic demands and too underfunded in terms of personnel, making the United States a turtle stuck in the face of China’s fast-paced hare. For many people on the islands, it will take more than fact sheets and summits to change this perception.

“The region will be looking at how all of these commitments will be executed,” Prof Powles said. “They will look for consistency in engagement.”