US lawmakers renew call for increased engagement with Pacific island region amid Trump's retreat mode

U.S. officials meet with Pacific island leaders during the U.S.-Pacific Islands Summit held from Sept. 28 to 29, 2024 at the White House. Photo courtesy of the Department of State

 By Mar-Vic Cagurangan

A proposal to boost Washington’s diplomatic relations with Pacific island nations received a new push in the U.S. Congress amid President Donald Trump’s erratic foreign policy direction and faltering interest in the region

Ed Case

Proponents of the diplomatic reinforcement today revived the “Our Pacific Partnership Act,” which would mandate the Department of State to institute a clear and comprehensive strategy to enhance the United States’s diplomatic posts, defense posture and economic engagements with the Pacific island bloc.

“Our Pacific Partnership Act responds directly to the reality that our country's and world's future lies in the Indo-Pacific, and that the islands of the Pacific are our indispensable partners in charting that future,” Rep. Ed Case said.

The Democratic lawmaker from Hawaii authored the same bill in the previous session of the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill was passed by the House but never voted on by the U.S. Senate.

“The Pacific islands are under increasingly severe economic, environmental and geopolitical stress, and we must expand our generational engagement to

 assist them where they most need assistance," Case said. "The Pacific Partnership Act, molded directly on the Pacific Islands’ own blueprint  to

 their collective future, is our roadmap to expanded engagement as well.”

The “Pacific Partnership Act” has reemerged as bicameral and bipartisan legislation, co-sponsored by Case, American Samoa Del. Aumua Amata Radewagen, Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D- Nev.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who underscored the necessity of maintaining Washington’s strategic partnership with Pacific island nations to keep China at bay.

 “This bipartisan bill is critical to strengthening our ties with our allies in the Pacific and ensuring they become enduring global relationships,” Masto said.

Regional experts have warned that Trump’s lukewarm engagements, aid cuts and climate change denial will pose a major setback to the U.S.-Pacific partnership rebuilt in recent years and, subsequently, embolden China even more to amplify its regional clout.

Aid groups operating in the Pacific—one of the world's most aid-dependent regions—are still evaluating the impact of Trump’s sweeping directives freezing billions of dollars in foreign aid in line with his “America First” foreign policy.

In the Pacific, the federal cuts affected development programs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, particularly climate change-related initiatives, which matter most to island states.

“Supporting our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific is essential to combating

the Chinese Communist Party’s influence and to our long-term national security,” Masto added.

The “Pacific Partnership Act” would establish a consultation process between the U.S. and its Pacific allies—including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan

and regional institutions—on development program planning for the region.

The legislation seeks to engage the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Islands

Development Program, the Pacific Community and the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Program concerning programs to assist the Pacific islands. 

The bill would also extend to the Pacific Islands Forum certain privileges and immunities provided to other international organizations, including exemption from most federal taxes and customs duties.

 “This bipartisan legislation equips us to work with nations in the Pacific that

 serve as the first line of defense against the Chinese Communist Party and keep Americans safe at home,” Ernst said.

Radewagen said the U.S. needs to sustain its engagement in the Pacific islands to keep China’s influence in check and strengthen mutual development opportunities.

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