US strikes partnership deal with Pacific island leaders

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The United States said at a summit with Pacific island leaders on Wednesday that it had agreed on a partnership for the future with them and held out the prospect of “big dollar” help to a region where it hopes to stem China’s expanding influence.

The Washington Post quoted U.S. officials as saying the Biden administration would announce an investment of more than $860 million in expanded programs to aid the islands at the two-day summit, on top of more than $1.5 billion provided in the past decade.

The White House had no immediate comment on the funding figure, but a U.S. official said the newspaper’s reporting that all the visiting leaders had endorsed an 11-point statement of vision committing to joint endeavors was accurate.

They included Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, whose government had earlier indicated it would not sign the declaration, raising further concerns about his ties to China. Sogavare’s spokesman had no immediate comment.

An unsigned draft of the declaration seen by Reuters said the leaders resolved to strengthen their partnership and shared a vision for region where “democracy will be able to flourish.”

The draft underscored the importance of the United Nations Convention

on the Law of the Sea and freedom of navigation and overflight, while condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine.

It also said the United States remained committed to addressing the Marshall Islands’ environmental and health concerns, without specifically mentioning the legacy of U.S. nuclear testing there in the 1940s and ’50s.

An official who briefed journalists ahead of the meeting acknowledged Washington had not paid the Pacific enough attention and would come up with new initiatives with “big-dollar numbers.”

It is the first time the United States has been host to so many leaders of a region it has considered its maritime backyard since World War Two, but into which China has been making steady advances. Some of the nations have complained about being caught in the middle of the superpowers’ battle for influence.

Leaders and representatives from 14 Pacific island states are taking part in the summit.

White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said last week the summit would focus on issues such as climate change and health. Washington and its allies want to boost maritime security and island states’ communication links with countries like Japan, Australia and India, he said.