Most Americans don’t spend much time thinking about the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, or Palau. However, these countries have a combined population of less than 1 million people, but they make up hundreds of islands across a strategic and highly contested region of the Pacific Ocean. Its importance was demonstrated during World War II when the U.S. military fought to liberate it from Japanese control. After their independence, they entered into an agreement with Washington called the Compact of Free Association, in which the United States gave them economic aid and provided defense.
The Biden administration wisely negotiated updates to these COFA agreements last year. But Congress has not yet appropriated the roughly $2 billion needed to meet the terms of a new 20-year deal, and by September all three previous deals will have expired (two of which have already has expired). Ambassador Joseph Yun, who led the negotiations as a special envoy for the State Department, told me that this delay is damaging relations with the United States at the worst possible time.
“All three of them know the benefits of having a relationship with us and want a relationship with us, but they are quite frustrated,” Yun, now retired, said in an interview. He spoke at “If we don’t do this every day, our credibility takes a hit.”
Meanwhile, China is expanding its influence in the Pacific Islands using a variety of tactics, including funding local politicians, providing military aid, and promoting development projects with conditions. Last year, the Chinese government signed a security cooperation agreement with the Solomon Islands. In January, China persuaded Nauru to give up diplomatic recognition to Taiwan. Just this week, Chinese police were reportedly seen operating in Kiribati, one of the Pacific islands closest to Hawaii.
“China has been very aggressive in the southern South Pacific…and now they’re starting the game in our backyard,” Yun said. “We must not take our eyes off what we are trying to do in the Indo-Pacific. Our attention has been diverted.”
president of palau told senators This month, China is looking forward to Washington stumbling. The Chinese government has promised to “fill every hotel room” in the country and offer other financial incentives if Palau switches alliances. When economic incentives fail, Beijing turns to even uglier tactics.President of the Marshall Islands wrote a letter to the senator After an earlier stand against Chinese aggression, the Chinese government reportedly tried to overthrow the government by bribing members of parliament.
This funding has broad bipartisan support in Congress. Forty-eight members of the House last week sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) urging him to include the funding in the next possible legislative package. In the letter, he said, “Failure to ratify these agreements, which were negotiated in good faith, would be the most self-defeating gift the United States could give China in the Pacific.”
Eli Ratner, the Pentagon’s top Asia official, said this month. Securing COFA funds This was one of the most important things the US government had to do in the region this year. “This is important,” he said. “We have to get it done.” Australia and New Zealand’s ambassadors in Washington also wrote to Congressional leaders last week, warning that if funding is not passed, there will be “serious consequences” for the region. “Dear,” he warned.
If everyone in the U.S. government and both Congresses agrees this is important, how can this delay be explained? From conversations with several members of Congress, senior administration officials, and Congressional staff: An all-too-familiar story about the intransigence of Washington’s bureaucracy is revealed.
The administration initially sought to add funding to an emergency supplement bill now slowly making its way through Congress, which already has billions of dollars earmarked for the Indo-Pacific region. But Republicans wanted the money to come from the regular spending portion of the budget and offset it with other spending cuts. The conflict continued for months.
Now, as Congress scrambles to avoid another government shutdown, funding advocates are working behind the scenes to include funding in any legislation that comes up for negotiation. If that doesn’t work out, there could be a delay of several more months.
While both Democrats and Republicans appear to agree that strategic competition with China is America’s top long-term priority, examples like this show a lack of follow-through where the rubber meets the road. , said Michael Sobolik, a senior researcher at the institute. American Foreign Policy Council.
“The burden of proof is on Washington to prove that our system is actually good,” he told me. “Failure to renew economic aid and services to COFA partners in the Pacific region will have the opposite effect.”
Without swift action, Congress risks abandoning a longtime partner, weakening America’s strategic position in Asia, and allowing Beijing to expand its influence. In short, Washington would have done Xi Jinping’s job for him.