By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
(This story has been updated to include a statement from the FSM government and to clarify that the unannounced meeting (previously titled "secret meeting") was the first bilateral engagement between the U.S. and the FSM under the Trump administration.)
The Pentagon plans to invest $2 billion in the Federated States of Micronesia to build more projects that would enable U.S. forces to operate in the Pacific island nation, the Department of Defense said.
The U.S. and the FSM have reached a mutual understanding to proceed with the construction of previously authorized U.S.-funded infrastructure projects in Yap.
“These projects will strengthen our deterrence and regional posture and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific,” states a press release from the department.
The agreement was reached during an unannounced meeting between Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and FSM President Wesley Simina on Guam.
A source said Hegseth and Simina met at Andersen Air Force Base Thursday afternoon. The president is expected to stay on Guam until the weekend.
Simina declined the Pacific Island Times' request for an interview.
When asked why the FSM meeting was not publicly announced, Lt. Cmdr. Michelle Tucker, public affairs officer for the Joint Task Force Micronesia, said “the FSM interaction was a late add to the schedule.”
Hegseth made a stopover on Guam as part of his Pacific tour aimed at securing the Indo-Pacific alliance amid the United States’ mounting rivalry with China.
While politically attached to the U.S. through the Compact of Free Association, the FSM is the only freely associated state diplomatically aligned with China.
The compact gives the U.S. military exclusive rights to use the FSM’s land, water and airspace.
“Future investments in FSM and Yap State by the U.S. Department of Defense are estimated to exceed $2 billion. These projects are designed to provide strategic operational and exercise capabilities for U.S. forces,” the defense department said.
“This effort is the product of several years of close collaboration, and its conclusion reflects the close and enduring partnership between the United States and FSM, underpinned by the Compact of Free Association,” it added.
In a statement issued later, the FSM government said the meeting marked the “first high-level bilateral engagement between the FSM and the United States under the new U.S. administration.”
“The meeting reaffirmed the enduring partnership between the two nations under the Compact of Free Association and set the tone for continued strategic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific,” the statement said.
“President Simina also reaffirmed the FSM’s strong support for continued U.S. military cooperation, including the impactful work of the U.S. Navy Seabees, and upcoming Pacific Partnership 2025 and Koa Moana 2025 deployments.”
The U.S. Air Force earlier announced plans to invest $400 million in Yap for airport extension to accommodate U.S. military operations in the strategically important location.
“Development of Yap Airport is essential because there are very few divert or contingency airfields available as potential United States defense sites in the region,” according to the Air Force’s budget request submitted to Congress in 2023.
One of the existing U.S.-funded projects in Yap is the international airport runway rehabilitation, supported by a $37 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The FSM has other infrastructure projects funded through COFA sector grants.
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