Palau president relieved as security deal funding approved

Key funds to counter China in the Pacific are finally flowing to three U.S. allies: Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.

On Friday, the Senate passed a funding package that would provide $7 billion over 20 years for the Compact of Free Association (COFA) as part of a partial government funding bill. The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden over the weekend.

“Expanding Compact-related assistance is an important component of the Administration’s Pacific Partnership, Indo-Pacific Strategy and National Security Strategy,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. in a statement. “We look forward to working with our partners in the Freely Associated Countries on COFA over the next two decades.”

These compacts provide the United States with strategic access to these areas of the Pacific. In return, the United States provides grants to fund education, health care, and infrastructure in these countries, and their citizens can study, work, and live in the United States without a visa.

The United States has had a Compact Agreement in effect with Micronesia and the Marshall Islands since 1986, and with Palau since 1994.

The deals were signed last year, but funding has stalled as U.S. lawmakers struggled to reach agreement on full-year spending. Palau has been forced to borrow money to pay for basic government services such as education and health care while waiting for $890 million – its fair share of funding.

“It’s not October 1, but at least it’s within this fiscal year and it’s really timely,” Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. said in an interview with VOA on Monday.

“[This] It allows us to stop borrowing to keep the government running; it allows us to hire the critical police officers, health care workers and education teachers we need,” he said.

Affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, Chinese tourists have dropped by more than 50%, and Palau’s economy is in trouble. The island nation maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan amid repeated pressure from Beijing to change its alliance.

Whipps said he recently met with investors from Singapore and Japan, as well as United Airlines, to request direct flights to Japan. He said that now that COFA has received funding, he can promise financiers a stable, secure environment.

“[It’s important that we’re] Opening up new markets makes us more diversified and more resilient and not so dependent on Chinese tourism, which can be weaponized. ” Whipps said.

Coordinated push

The final paragraph follows a coordinated pressure campaign from MPs and the Pacific.

American Samoa Representative Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen said in a statement after the House passed COFA: “The COFA agreement signals the United States’ commitment to the Pacific. a clear message and took a much-needed strong international stance for the ideals of democracy and freedom.” Wednesday.

“I am grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their collaboration and to the many advocates in the COFA community in Hawaii and across the country whose hard work made this victory a reality,” Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono said in a statement. Possibly,” a statement issued after the Senate passed COFA on Friday.

Leaders of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands joined Whipps in drafting a letter to congressional leaders in February warning of the consequences of not funding the compact.

Like Palau, the Marshall Islands maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan and Micronesia has diplomatic ties with Beijing.

“China has made a ‘carrot and stick’ effort [People’s Republic of China] Change our alliance, including ceasing support for Taiwan,” Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine wrote in a February letter.

President Heine said at a Nuclear Remembrance Day ceremony in the Marshall Islands on March 1 that funding delays had raised suspicions.

“At some point, if the United States is unable or unwilling to live up to its commitments to us, our country needs to seriously consider other options available to us. Our country has been a staunch ally of the United States, but this should not be taken for granted, ” she told the audience.

delay sending signal

Experts say Washington’s funding delays send a signal to other countries in the Pacific that undermines U.S. credibility.

“They view our agreements with the three Pacific nations as our engagement with the region,” Kathryn Hendel Paik, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA on Monday. the weather vane.”

“Our nonsense on this really makes them question the relationship, which they’ve started to doubt because historically we haven’t always been in the Pacific and we haven’t always Showing up the way we should,” she said.

“We look forward to the ratification of these agreements,” Marshall Islands Ambassador to the United States Charles Paul told VOA via Zoom on Monday.

He added that the agreement includes about $700 million to address the health effects of radiation introduced in 67 U.S. atmospheric nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958.

Federated States of Micronesia President Wesley Sinima posted a 13-minute video on Facebook on Saturday, saying the funding delays had caused “doubt and uncertainty.” However, he added that the final agreement would “bring greater peace and prosperity” to the people of Micronesia and “greater security and stability to the Indo-Pacific region and the world.”

As for Palau, President Whipps said he has been invited to Washington in the coming weeks to exchange diplomatic notes to finalize the deal. He hopes to attend.