US Summit for the Pacific Islands/Reuters
The United States on Thursday unveiled a new $810 million aid fund for the Pacific Islands at a summit that President Joe Biden attended amid escalating rivalry with China in the important region.
The White House stated that Washington would enhance its environmental support, development aid, and diplomatic presence. The White House also stated that $600 million would be in the form of a ten-year aid package targeted at cleaning up contaminated waterways to enable tuna fishing.
President Joe Biden welcomed the “historic” conference at which the United States unveiled a new Pacific strategy, saying the Pacific Islands play a crucial role in advancing the future.
12 chiefs of state and government are taking part in the historic meeting, which started on Wednesday.
China is on everyone’s mind, even US officials who prioritise discussing it in private meetings, despite some officials’ desire to avoid bringing up the Asian behemoth.
Regarding the stated objective, it is to improve ties with the area that has been close to the US since World War II and has recently become more significant to China due to investments, training of security forces, and the recent signing of a security agreement between Beijing and the Solomon Islands.
Manasseh Sogavarre, the prime minister of the Solomon Islands, signed the wide and frequently unclear security agreement in April of last year.
Many Western nations, including the US and Australia, are concerned that the pact will allow China to set up a military facility there, which the Solomon Islands have denied.
Sogavarre stated in a statement that his concerns about the “ASEAN” and “Quad” regional alliances—the latter of which includes the United States, Australia, Japan, and India—were “positively” taken into account during negotiations in Washington to adopt a joint declaration at the conclusion of the summit.
The Solomon Islands will get $20 million in US aid for tourism and alternative logging.
Two autonomous nations that are connected to New Zealand diplomatically, militarily, and financially are the Cook Islands and Niue, according to a White House announcement.
As a result, Washington will be able to expand its diplomatic presence in the islands, which have a population of under 20,000 but are situated in a significant South Pacific economic region.
As part of this new approach, Joe Biden chose regional authority Frankie Reed, a diplomat, as the nation’s first ambassador to the Pacific Islands Forum.
On Thursday, the White House also hinted at the establishment of two American embassies on the islands of Tonga and Kiribati. The United States recently announced the reopening of its embassy in the Solomon Islands, where China has a significant presence.
According to the White House, volunteers from the US Peace Corps will be sent to Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, and maybe the Solomon Islands. The US Agency for International Development will establish a presence in Fiji by September 2023.
Along with the US territory of Guam, the summit also includes two French territories, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, which are also part of the Pacific Islands Forum.
Newly appointed French High Commissioner to Polynesia Eric Spitz told local news station TNTV that “it is our habit not to join huge blocs.”
Since several of these archipelagos face the long-term threat of sinking as a result of rising ocean levels, the battle against climate change is also at the forefront of the debates.
Even if the world fulfils the goals of the Paris climate agreement, some of the Pacific Islands are in danger of disappearing. They only contribute 0.03 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.
Washington promises to increase its presence in the Pacific islands to counter China.
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