After many delays, the US Congress has passed legislation that will provide financial aid to Pacific Islands.
The US Senate on March 8 provided $7.1bn in funding over 20 years, which will enable Washington to have exclusive military access to Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated Republic of Micronesia in exchange for economic support.
The three island nations are spread across 4,000km across the Pacific Ocean and provide the US with much needed access to the Indo-Pacific.
The leaders of the three countries have repeatedly written letters to the US warning that the delay in allocating funds had “generated uncertainty among our peoples” and “resulted in undesirable opportunities for economic exploitation by competitive political actors in the Pacific.”
“We … cannot overstate the importance to all of our nations of final approval by the US Congress,” they added.
The funding brings into the spotlight the fierce quest for supremacy in the Pacific Ocean region between the US and China.
China over the years has flexed its economic muscle and built clout and security ties in the region.
China has been trying to increase its influence in the region and Beijing’s clout can be gauged from the fact that recently Nauru, a country of 12,000 people in the Pacific, decided to sever ties with Taiwan in favour of mainland China. In 2019, other countries like Kiribati and the Solomon Islands, had also decided to derecognise Taiwan.
The rising impact of China in the region has pushed the US to spring into action. In 2022, the US organised a summit with Pacific Island leaders, and adopted a Pacific Partnership strategy backed by $1bn in aid.
A lot of Western aid that comes to developing countries is linked to governance conditions, and for many countries it seems less attractive than China’s loans and investments into infrastructure or direct support to individual politicians.
