WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Portal) – President Joe Biden met with Pacific island leaders on Monday for a second White House summit in just over a year, part of a charm offensive aimed at curbing Chinese incursions into a region to contain what Washington considers to be strategically crucial.
Before greeting island leaders gathered under the umbrella of the 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Biden announced U.S. diplomatic recognition of two additional Pacific island nations, the Cook Islands and Niue.
“The United States is committed to ensuring an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, prosperous, and secure. We are committed to working with all nations at this table to achieve this goal,” Biden said at the welcoming ceremony.
According to a document issued after a working lunch with Congress, Biden pledged to work with Congress to provide an additional $200 million for projects in the region aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, boosting economic growth, Combating Illegal Fishing and Improving Public Health Group.
“These new programs and activities continue to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to working with the Pacific Islands to expand and deepen our cooperation in the coming years,” the document said.
A joint statement said the sides had agreed to hold another summit in 2025 and hold political engagements every two years thereafter.
Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, chairman of the Islands Forum, called the summit “an opportunity… to develop our partnerships for prosperity.” He called on Washington to join in at the 52nd PIF leadership meeting, which he will host in a few weeks. to “actively engage at the highest levels” to support its 2050 Strategy.
The USA wants to help the island states fend off China
Biden hosted an inaugural summit of 14 Pacific island nations a year ago and was scheduled to meet them again in May in Papua New Guinea. That meeting was canceled when a crisis over the U.S. debt ceiling forced Biden to cut short his trip to Asia.
Last year, his government pledged to help the islanders fend off China’s “economic coercion” and decided in a joint statement to strengthen their partnership. It said they shared a vision for a region where “democracy can thrive.”
Biden said recognizing the Cook Islands and Niue would “allow us to expand the scope of this enduring partnership as we seek to address the challenges most important to the lives of our peoples.”
He highlighted a personal connection to the region – an uncle who was killed in World War II after crash-landing off the coast of Papua New Guinea. He said the summit, like then, aimed to “build a better world.”
In Baltimore on Sunday, Pacific Island leaders visited a Coast Guard cutter in port and were briefed by the Coast Guard commander on the fight against illegal fishing.
They also attended the National Football League (NFL) game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Dozens of NFL players are Pacific Islanders.
SOME SKIP PEAKS
Representatives of all 18 PIF members attended the summit, although not all at leadership level.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who has deepened ties with China, was not present, and a senior Biden administration official said the U.S. was “disappointed.”
Washington appears to have made no progress in offering major infrastructure financing and expanded aid to the Solomon Islands. Sogavare visited China in July and announced a police agreement with Beijing, building on a security pact signed last year.
The White House said in 2022 that the U.S. would invest more than $810 million in expanded programs to support the Pacific islands.
Meg Keen, director of Pacific Island programs at Australia’s Lowy Institute, said that while the U.S. has opened new embassies and a USAID office in the region since last year’s summit, Congress has not yet approved most funding commitments made last year.
She added that Pacific island nations “welcome renewed U.S. engagement in the region but do not want geopolitical disputes to lead to an escalation of militarization.” Vanuatu Prime Minister Sato Kilman also did not attend the summit. He was elected two weeks ago to replace Ishmael Kalsakau, who lost a no-confidence vote over measures including signing a security deal with U.S. ally Australia.
The US is still negotiating to open an embassy in Vanuatu but has not significantly expanded its engagement with that country, which counts China as its largest external creditor. China signed a police agreement with Vanuatu last month.
A senior Biden administration official said the US is on track to open the Vanuatu embassy early next year.
Fiji has welcomed the stronger U.S. regional presence as making the Pacific “safer,” but Kiribati, one of the most remote Pacific island nations 2,500 miles (4,000 km) southwest of Hawaii, said it plans to end a former world war this year upgrade two runways with Chinese help. A $29 million program to help Kiribati youth find work internationally was signed at the summit.
Washington this year renewed agreements with Palau and Micronesia that give it exclusive military access to strategic parts of the Pacific, but has yet to do so with the Marshall Islands, which need more money to deal with the legacy of massive U.S. nuclear testing in the 1940s and 50s.
The summit statement said the U.S. “intends to work expeditiously to address the needs of the Republic of the Marshall Islands through ongoing negotiations on the Compact” and that it is committed to “addressing its ongoing environmental, health and other welfare concerns.” to address.
Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington and Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Edited by Don Durfee, Grant McCool and Gerry Doyle
Our standards: The Thomson Portal Trust Principles.
Acquire license rights, opens new tab