US President Joe Biden (C) and leaders from the Pacific Islands region pose for a photograph on the North Portico of the White House September 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. Photo: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / AFP
The United States House of Representatives has passed a bill which would require US presidents to develop a Pacific Partnership strategy.
The bill, if eventually passed into law, would mean the President, in coordination with the Secretary of State, "shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy entitled the "Strategy for Pacific Partnership'."
It said this should happen "not later than January 1, 2026, and again not later than January 1, 2030".
The bill states this strategy would include overarching goals for United States engagement in the Pacific Islands region and a plan to address threats faced by the region, including from natural disasters.
It would also include an analysis of the needs and goals expressed by governments of the Pacific Islands region.
Hawai'i representative Ed Case, who sponsored the bill, told the House it aims to broaden and deepen US partnerships with their fellow nations of the Pacific.
He said the Pacific today faces challenges including increased natural disasters, human and drug trafficking, economic sustainability and threats to democracy.
"It is crucial that the United States continues to extend our hand of full partnership in assisting the countries of the Pacific to meet these challenges, as we have for generations.
"Our bill...advances these goals.
"It acknowledges that the United States should support the vision, values and objections of the Pacific Islands."
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American Samoa representative Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen said while Congress has extended the Compacts of Free Association, "those are only focused on three Pacific Island countries".
"There are 11 other countries who need our attention."
The US is widely considered to be in a geopolitical battle of wills with China, which also pours large amounts of funding into the Pacific.
But not everyone sees the US as the great supporter of the region, particularly in the wake of nuclear testing.
The Pacific Partnerships bill also extends certain diplomatic immunities to the Pacific Islands Forum; requires the President to report to Congress on the implementation of the strategy; and states the President should consult and coordinate with allies and partners in the Pacific Islands region about programs that provide assistance to the region.
The US House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber.