US still seeks delayed Pacific islands funds amid China’s lobbying push in region: senior diplomat
- ‘Critically important to continue to work’ in support of Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau, all omitted from US$95 billion foreign aid package
- While US lawmakers bicker over federal spending, Pacific allies in dire economic need are vulnerable to ‘outside influence’, experts warn
“At the State Department, the White House, we continue to advocate for the authorisation and appropriation of funds. We feel it’s critically important to continue to work in close concert and in support of the freely associated states”, said Camille Dawson, a deputy assistant secretary at the US State Department, referring to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.
That strategy arguably descends from the Compact of Free Association (Cofa), a pact that for decades has steered US ties with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau.
Amid growing fears of what some have called Beijing’s coercive influence campaign in the Indo-Pacific region, the agreement is seen as indispensable to Washington’s efforts to maintain its presence in the region, a place where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken once said “our planet’s future will be written”.
