By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed a bill requiring the State Department to update the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy every year and set clear diplomatic, defense and economic goals for Pacific island states and territories to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
H.R. 7159, also known as the Pacific Partnership Act, seeks to beef up further the United States’ engagement with Pacific island nations and ensure the continuity of their diplomatic ties.
“Our country’s Indo-Pacific strategy states in no uncertain terms that no region is of more consequence to the world and to everyday Americans than the Indo-Pacific,” said Rep. Ed Case, the main author of H.R. 7159.
The State Department released the Biden administration's U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy in February 2022. The document stated Washington's goal "to defend our interests and to deter aggression against U.S. territory and against our allies and partners" and to "bolster Indo-Pacific security, drawing on all instruments of power to deter aggression and to counter coercion."
Cosponsored by 25 House members, H.R. 7159 would require an assessment of the threats and pressures to the region and a plan to address such threats in consultation with the governments of Pacific islands countries, according to a press release from Case’s office.
“The United States and our allies and partners around the world who are aligned with an international rules-based order share the common vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific whose governance, priorities, goals and prosperity are determined by the countries of the Indo- Pacific without manipulation and dominance by malicious actors,” Case said.
“It is crucial that the United States continue to extend our hand of full partnership in assisting the countries of the Pacific to meet these challenges, as we have for generations,” the congressman from Hawaii said.
The bill would further extend diplomatic courtesies to the Pacific Islands Forum, requires increased collaboration in U.S. efforts in the Pacific with ally and partner nations including Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
Guam Del. James Moylan said the Pacific Partnerships Act would provide continuity and increase focus on the U.S. engagement with Pacific partners.
He added that the bill would “shift America’s perspective of global affairs, by acknowledging our country's deep cultural ties to the Pacific and refocusing on the region as core to national security.”
American Samoa Del. Aumua Amata Radewagen said the bill would extend the U.S. diplomatic engagements beyond the freely associated states amid China’s mounting aggressive campaign to increase its influence among Pacific Island countries.
“While Congress has done its job to extend the Compacts of Free Association for another 20 years, those only focus on three Pacific island countries. There are 11 others who need our attention,” Radewagen said.
“The 2022 security pact between Beijing and the Solomon Islands was seen by many as an alarming wake-up call,” she said. “The CCP is pressuring islands in their exclusive economic zones, and bribing local law enforcement to influence local elections.”'
Radewagen said the Pacific Partnership Act describe the U.S. goals for “engaging with the Pacific islands in the diplomatic, defense and economic domains.”
Rep. Ami Bera of California explained that the bill would designate the Pacific Islands Forum as an international organization with diplomatic privileges.
H.R. 7159 would extend to the Forum and its employees certain privileges and immunities provided to other international organizations, including exemption from most federal taxes and customs duties.
"It is essential that the United States demonstrates that we are not merely interested in the region, but we are invested in an evolving, enduring relationship with our Pacific Islands partners,” said Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky.
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