Opinion Three island nations show how America is failing to stand up to China
By Josh Rogin
Columnist
February 29, 2024 at 7:30 a.m. EST
As Congress continues to struggle to pass national security funding, there’s plenty of concern about the impact for Ukraine and Israel. But Asian and Pacific allies are also watching anxiously as Washington dithers. For three small but important island countries in the northern Pacific, U.S. neglect could be a push into China’s waiting arms.
Most Americans don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. But although these countries have less than 1 million residents put together, they make up hundreds of islands that span a strategic and increasingly contested part of the Pacific Ocean. Their importance was demonstrated during World War II, when U.S. troops fought to free them from Japanese control. After they became independent, they struck agreements with Washington, called Compacts of Free Association, whereby the United States gives them economic assistance and provides for their defense.
The Biden administration wisely negotiated renewals of these COFA agreements last year. But Congress has yet to appropriate the roughly $2 billion needed to fulfill the terms of the new 20-year deals — and by September, all three of the previous agreements will have expired (two have expired already). Ambassador Joseph Yun, who led the negotiations as a special envoy for the State Department, told me the delay is undermining U.S. relationships there at the worst possible time.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/29/congress-funding-marshall-islands-micronesia-palau-china-power/
