Saipan — Early last month, American Samoa’s delegate to the U.S. Congress, Aumua Amata, sounded “a note of caution to Pacific island nations that sign agreements with China for economic interests.” She was referring to a new visa exemption agreement between American Samoa’s independent neighbor, Samoa, and China. She said this may make travel between them easier for those
countries’ citizens, “but at what cost to the U.S. and other democracies’ economic and security interests in the region.”
Which is a strange thing to say. Surely Samoa, China, the U.S. itself and other nations will make decisions based on their own national interests — not those of other countries.
Citing the example of Palau, Rep. Amata said China cannot be trusted as an economic or trade partner, and that Pacific island nations should “maintain a safe distance at arm’s length” before seeking closer ties with China.
Palau is one of the 12 remaining diplomatic allies of Taiwan, which Beijing insists is part of China. According to Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., China tried to “starve Palau’s tourism-dependent economy of visitors” because it refused to abandon Taiwan. Clearly, Palau’s actions reflect what its current leaders believe is in their country’s best interest. Like Palau, the Marshall Islands has a “free association” agreement, or Compact of Free Association, with the U.S. and has diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
But the largest Compact nation, the Federated States of Micronesia, has diplomatic relations with China. I’m pretty sure the leaders of the Marshalls and the FSM, like their Palau counterparts, act in accordance with what they think is best for their nations.
Now, if the U.S. wants Pacific island nations to be “closer” to America than to China, it should make it more worthwhile to be on its good side. That, incidentally, is the main point of having Compacts of Free Association with Palau, the Marshalls and the FSM. (These islands also have the distinction of having been administered by the U.S. under the Trust Territory government.)
Dealing with countries like the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea is a different matter, and the U.S. is fully aware of that fact. The U.S. also knows that in diplomacy, appealing to another nation’s “better nature” or invoking “shared values” doesn’t always work — if at all. But “Show Me the Money” often does. America’s compacts with the freely associated states are buttressed by a wide array of U.S. funding and other forms of assistance.
In the Pacific, China is making significant inroads into many island nations because, to quote Larry Summers, a former U.S. secretary of the Treasury, “[As] somebody from a developing country said to me, ‘What we get from China is an airport. What we get from the United States is a lecture.’”
U.S. officials may urge Pacific island nations to consider the possible, dismal, long-term consequences of close ties with China. However, these nations, like other countries around the world, are governed by politicians who are expected by their constituents to “deliver” the goodies, ASAP. For most politicians, the “future” is the next election year.
Throughout history, American leaders have acknowledged this reality. The first U.S. president, George Washington, said America should avoid getting involved in the affairs of other nations and warned against “permanent inveterate antipathies against particular nations.” Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th U.S. president, lamented that other countries “treat us [the U.S.] like we all used to treat our mother. They impose on us. We just know that she’s sweet and good and wonderful and she is going to be kind to us…and every damned one of them [foreign leaders] talk to me that way…. I just talk to 113 nations and they just screw us to death.”
Back here in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, I find it curious that Gov. Arnold I. Palacios wanted to depict the CNMI as an island jurisdiction that is willing to stay away from big bad China and should, therefore, be amply rewarded by Uncle Sam financially.
Two years ago, in announcing his “pivot from China policy” to a U.S. military official — and not to the people of the CNMI — the governor said the loss of the Chinese tourism market “has had a considerable adverse economic and financial impact on the commonwealth. This loss, which represents a sizable portion of the CNMI's tourism revenue, contributes to vulnerable economic conditions that, in the past, have been exploited by the Chinese Communist Party to the detriment of the United States’ interests in the region.”
Two things. One, Gov. Palacios has no mandate from the CNMI voting public for his pivot policy. As far as I know, he didn’t mention it publicly while he was still running for governor, nor did he touch on it in his inaugural address.
And two, unlike the freely associated states, the CNMI, as well as Guam, is a territory of the U.S., and the U.S. adheres to a one-China policy.” The CNMI cannot engage in foreign policy and does not have control over immigration.
The U.S. is responsible for both, as well as defense. Did the U.S. actually allow the Chinese Communist Party to “exploit” the CNMI’s “vulnerable economic conditions”? When did that happen?
Five years after the Covid restrictions shut down its only industry —tourism —the CNMI is still struggling economically. It is now completely dependent on the South Korean market, which lately has more downs than ups. The CNMI is also trying to revive the Japanese market, but it has already dwindled to a shadow of its former self. And yet, the Marianas Visitors Authority cannot even discuss reviving what was once the CNMI’s second-largest market—China, — because of the governor’s “pivot.” A pivot to misery is more like it.
Meanwhile, other U.S. jurisdictions, including Hawaii, which hosts vital U.S. military facilities, are “tapping” into the China tourism market. In June 2024, KHON2-TV of Honolulu reported that “Tourism from China to Hawaiʻi has spiked significantly”: “Honolulu has seen a remarkable rise in popularity among Chinese tourists. Honolulu has climbed from being ranked number nine up to ranking number five as a preferred destination. This shift is part of Hawaiʻi’s broader strategy to attract more Chinese visitors.”
Time for the CNMI to re-pivot to the real world.
Zaldy Dandan is editor of the CNMI’s oldest (surviving) newspaper, Marianas Variety. His fourth book, “If He Isn’t Insane Then He Should Be: Stories & Poems from Saipan,” is available on amazon.com/.
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