The United States and Palau agreed on Wednesday to renew a key strategic pact, as part of U.S. efforts to bolster support for Pacific island states to stave off competition from China, even as that President Joe Biden canceled a historic stopover in the region.
The two sides initialed a new Free Association Agreement (COFA) in Palau, after the United States reached a similar deal with Micronesia on Monday.
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr’s office posted a message on his Facebook page: ‘This is a historic day! “God bless Palau! God bless the United States of America! God bless us all!
US presidential envoy Joseph Yun told a ceremony that the pact with Palau would be officially signed next week in Papua New Guinea. He told Reuters this week that a new COFA with Micronesia would also be signed in Port Moresby on Monday.
Mr Biden was due to attend the ceremony, but on Tuesday he canceled what was supposed to be a brief stopover in Papua New Guinea due to the US debt ceiling crisis.
Analysts said the cancellation of the layover was a blow to US credibility in the Pacific island region, which has long felt neglected by Washington.
On Monday, Yun told Reuters he planned to visit the Marshall Islands from Thursday to Sunday, but doubted the COFA deal could be finalized just yet.
Washington entered into the first COFA agreements with the three island states in the 1980s, under which it retains responsibility for their defense and provides them with economic assistance, while in exchange obtaining exclusive access to huge strategic swathes of the Pacific. .
The renewal of these agreements has become a key part of US efforts to counter China’s attempts to expand its influence in the Pacific. Chinese diplomats court the region, and Chinese construction and mining companies have expanded operations in many island nations.
The Marshall Islands COFA is due to expire this year. Mr. Yun did not give a reason for the delay in renewing this agreement, but parliamentary elections are scheduled in this country in November.
Last month, he said the basic agreements would provide the three COFA member states with a total of about $6.5 billion over a 20-year period.
Last year, more than 100 arms proliferation, environmental and other activist groups called on the Biden administration to issue a formal apology to the Marshall Islands for the impact of the massive nuclear tests carried out by the United States in this country and to grant them fair compensation.
The inhabitants of the Marshall Islands are still suffering the health and environmental consequences of the 67 American nuclear tests carried out between 1946 and 1958, including “Castle Bravo” on Bikini Atoll in 1954, the largest American bomb ever triggered.
2023-05-17 16:27:41
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