The US Congress approved this Friday $7.1 billion in economic support for Palau, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia in exchange for the exclusive US military presence in those three Pacific island states, the Financial Times reports.
This funding is part of a $460 billion appropriations bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown.
The publication points out that, despite the small size of the three countries, the surface of their territorial waters is about 4,000 square kilometers, which will give the United States a decisive advantage in the Pacific region.
Washington will be able to deploy its missiles and radars on the territory of these countries, as well as test intercontinental ballistic missiles.
A region that the great powers look at
Beijing has become one of the largest creditors of Pacific nations. Its trade with the region – mainly seafood, timber and minerals – increased to $5.3 billion in 2021 from $153 million in 1992, according to Chinese government data.
Since 2019, the number of Pacific Rim countries that recognize Taiwan has dropped from six to three. Thus, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati stopped recognizing it, and in 2024, days after the Taiwanese elections, they were joined by Nauru, which established diplomatic relations with China.
The stakes were raised in 2022 when China and the Solomon Islands signed a security agreement. Beijing’s agreement with Honiara alarmed the US, which began a chain reaction to increase its own presence in the region.
In February 2023, Washington reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands three decades after its closure, in addition to announcing the intention to open one in Vanuatu and establish diplomatic representations in Kiribati and Tonga. With RT