Although the three island nations involved are tiny, they span 4000 km across the Pacific, providing critical access for the US to operate in the Indo-Pacific region.
| The US Congress has passed legislation that will fund key agreements with Pacific Island nations, in an outcome that will spark relief across the Indo-Pacific region after previous delaysThe Senate on Friday provided $US7.1 billion in funding over 20 years for the Compacts of Free Association – an agreement that provides the US with exclusive military access to Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia in exchange for economic support.
Senator Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican who takes a keen interest in the Pacific region, said it was “important” to have funded Cofa.“Our network of partners and allies – including these three island nations in the Pacific – are among our county’s greatest comparative strengths relative to the dictatorships in Beijing, Moscow and Tehran,” he said. “The investment serves our mutual interests in pushing back on the Chinese Communist Party’s aggressive regional designs.
Kathryn Paik, a former National Security Council official now at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think-tank in Washington, welcomed the outcome but said the US had “really hurt” itself with the delayed funding. The hand-wringing casts a spotlight on fierce geopolitical competition as China rapidly gains influence over Pacific island nations on whose maritime territory the US fought decisive battles in the Second World War.China’s rising economic presence and efforts to build clout and security ties have triggered a pushback from the region’s traditional partners.
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