Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - After decades of stagnating U.S. funding, Pacific island leaders welcomed the country's promise to b...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - After decades of stagnating U.S. funding, Pacific island leaders welcomed the country's promise to boost aid to the area in order to fight illegal fishing, improve marine security, and combat climate change.
In a video presentation to the Pacific Islands Forum on Wednesday in Suva, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said that, pending congressional approval, American aid to the Pacific islands would be increased to $60 million year for a decade.
Some Pacific governments are attempting to strike a compromise between China's aspirations for regional commerce and security ties.
Without naming the negative actors attempting to undermine the international system of laws, Harris urged nations to "stand united."
She acknowledged that the Pacific islands may not have received the diplomatic support and attention they deserved in recent years.
Climate change is the primary security concern for the Pacific leaders gathered for the four-day meeting, but tensions between China and the United States and Kiribati's unexpected exit from the forum are also being discussed.
After Harris's address, Surangel Whipps Jr., the president of Palau, remarked, "It really demonstrates the U.S. are back and want to play an active role."
He told Reuters, "This was crucial since often we get neglected due of our remoteness.
The proposal by China to negotiate a trade and security deal with 10 countries with ties to China, which is resisted by some members, will be discussed during the conference.
Palau maintains diplomatic links with Taiwan, a defence partnership with the US, and trade relations with China.
"The opportunities in China are virtually endless. Sometimes, this competitiveness raises security-related questions. We experienced World War II, and we don't want to go through it again "said he.
Manasseh Sogavare, the prime minister of the Solomon Islands, signed a security agreement with China that has alarmed the United States. He was unable to attend the Harris speech because of a bilateral meeting, but the Solomon Islands was nonetheless represented, according to his spokeswoman. A fishing agreement between the United States and the Pacific includes Solomon Islands.
In addition to pledging more support for maritime surveillance in the Pacific, the United States is wrapping up discussions on a new fishing agreement with Pacific island governments that will allow American vessels to fish in exclusive economic zones for decades.
The fishing agreement, according to Fiji's prime minister Frank Bainimarama, gave Washington a platform to "balance" its strategic shortcomings in the Pacific.
Steven Victor, the fisheries minister for Palau, claimed that the country's sole sources of income were fishing and tourism, and that U.S. support had been flat for 20 years.
A month after the last in-person meeting of the conference, Kiribati, which is likewise heavily dependent on fishing, signed fisheries agreements with China after transferring diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing.
A representative for the Chinese foreign ministry stated during a news conference on Monday that "China has long had strong cooperation with the Pacific Island Forum."
