The United States has unveiled a major push into the Pacific region, seeking to counter China’s growing influence, with Vice President Kamala Harris announcing $600 million in funding at a major regional summit. In a video speech at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in Fiji on Wednesday, Harris also said the US would open two new embassies – in Tonga and Kiribati – and appoint its first envoy to the Pacific. It has already announced plans to reopen its embassy in the Solomon Islands. The US vice president thanked Fiji for inviting it to speak at the summit and said the US was ready to “start a new chapter” in the Pacific. Harris said she and US President Joe Biden recognized that the region may not have received enough focus in the past. “We will change that,” he promised, adding that the U.S. wants to “significantly deepen our presence in the Pacific region.” The aid – $60 million annually over a decade – represents a tripling of current aid and will be channeled into measures to strengthen maritime security, tackle climate change and combat illegal fishing. The US will restart the Peace Corps program in the Pacific. “It really shows that the US is back and wants to play an active role,” Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr told Reuters news agency after Harris’ speech. “Sometimes, because of our distance, we get forgotten, so that was important.” Palau has a defense relationship with the United States, diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and an economic relationship with China. Before the speech, a US administration official had told reporters that the US would “step up our game in the Pacific Islands”. The US moves come as China strengthens economic and political ties with the Pacific island nation, signing a security pact with the Solomon Islands in April that has fueled concern not only in the US but also in Australia and New Zealand . The PIF meeting, which brings together leaders from across the region, was the first since the agreement was signed. Harris’ speech was a diplomatic coup for the US, with China yet to be invited to make a similar appearance at the summit. At least one official from the local Chinese embassy was in the room for Harris’ address, causing a minor commotion among organizers. Tonga said it was happy to hear that the US would open an embassy in the country for the first time. “It’s a big milestone,” Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni told AFP news agency. “We are very happy to finally have an American presence in Tonga.”
