- The Strategist - https://www.aspistrategist.org.au -
The US comes back to the South Pacific
Posted By Graeme Dobell on September 26, 2022 @ 06:00
The Summit will demonstrate the United States’ deep and enduring partnership with Pacific Island countries and the Pacific region that is underpinned by shared history, values, and people-to-people ties. The Summit will reflect our broadening and deepening cooperation on key issues such as climate change, pandemic response, economic recovery, maritime security, environmental protection, and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific.
You have got to show up. And the United States has not.
We get it. The Solomon Islands is small, remote and economically insignificant. But if all countries like us are dismissed as such, China will pick us off one by one with its promises of business projects and development aid.
For decades, we identified with the West, a legacy forged when the United States, Australia and their allies halted Japan’s imperial advance during World War II in the Battle of Guadalcanal. But that was long ago. There is a creeping sense today that we are being ignored, if not forgotten. So who can blame us if we open the door to new friends who can help with our needs?
And those needs are great.
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URL to article: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific/
[1] division of responsibilities: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/what-the-us-expects-of-australia-in-the-south-pacific/
[2] long years of relative neglect: https://asiasociety.org/magazine/article/united-states-china-and-fight-blue-continent
[3] global: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/nato-recognises-global-power-shift-to-the-indo-pacific/
[4] balance: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/australias-indo-pacific-hope-equilibrium/
[5] Washington meeting with island leaders: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/02/statement-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-on-the-first-u-s-pacific-island-country-summit/
[6] absence of mind: https://theconversation.com/us-takes-a-renewed-interest-in-the-pacific-and-chinas-role-in-it-190053
[7] no invites: https://www.cookislandsnews.com/uncategorised/national/no-invite-for-cook-islands-in-pacific-nations-meeting/
[8] assistance and ongoing engagement: https://www.state.gov/u-s-engagement-in-the-pacific-islands-2022-pacific-islands-conference-of-leaders/
[9] Blue Pacific Continent: https://www.forumsec.org/2050strategy/
[10] Partners in the Blue Pacific: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/24/statement-by-australia-japan-new-zealand-the-united-kingdom-and-the-united-states-on-the-establishment-of-the-partners-in-the-blue-pacific-pbp/
[11] foreign ministers: https://www.state.gov/joint-statement-on-partners-in-the-blue-pacific-foreign-ministers-meeting/
[12] New York Times op-ed: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/27/opinion/international-world/china-us-solomon.html
[13] And the United States has not.: https://thediplomat.com/2022/04/time-for-the-us-to-step-up-in-solomon-islands/
[14] re-establish: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/12/us-plans-to-reopen-solomon-islands-embassy-in-push-to-counter-china
[15] new chapter of partnership: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/07/12/remarks-by-vice-president-harris-at-the-pacific-islands-forum/
[16] reframing American policy: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/U.S.-Strategy-Toward-Sub-Saharan-Africa-FINAL.pdf