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Updated January 25, 2024
The Pacific Islands
Overview
• In 2022, Fiji became the first PIC to join the Indo-
The Pacific Islands region in the Southwest Pacific has
Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF)
emerged as an area of growing interest to major powers,
initiative, launched by the Biden Administration in
due to the region’s strategic location and significant
2022.
resources. The state of Hawaii, several U.S. territories,
•
three “freely associated” countries, and key U.S. military
In May 2023, the United States and Papua New Guinea
signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) and an
installations are located in the region. Congressional
Agreement Concerning Counter Illicit Transnational
considerations include bolstering diplomacy in the region;
Maritime Activity Operations. The DCA allows the U.S.
funding assistance in areas important to the region such as
military to develop and operate out of bases in PNG
climate change, sustainable fisheries, and economic
with the PNG government’s approval.
development; addressing security and other threats posed
by the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China),
• In September 2023, the U.S. government announced that
including by working with allies; and extending assistance
it would establish formal diplomatic relations with the
to the Freely Associated States (FAS, see below).
Cook Islands and Niue, two countries that have “free
association” status with New Zealand.
Some Pacific Island countries (PICs), such as Papua New
Guinea (PNG) and Fiji, are relatively large with extensive
• Legislation in the 118th Congress that support the above
natural resources; others are quite small, sitting on top of
and related efforts in the Pacific Islands region include
low-lying coral atolls, with limited economic prospects and
the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2024
high vulnerability to the effects of climate change and sea
(P.L. 118-31, §6405 and §7406) and the following
level rise. Many PICs rely on fisheries, tourism, and
introduced bills: S. 1220, H.R. 4538, and H.J.Res. 96.
remittances as their chief sources of revenue. PICs were
among the first countries to ratify the 2015 Paris Climate
Figure 1. The Pacific Islands Region and Subregions
Agreement on climate change. PIC leaders agreed on an
expanded concept of security in the 2018 Boe Declaration
on Regional Security, which states that climate change
remains “the single greatest threat” to the Pacific.
The Trump Administration increased foreign assistance to
the Pacific Islands, and the Biden Administration has
further expanded U.S. engagement in the region. The Biden
Administration held the first U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum
Summit in September 2022, during which it announced the
U.S. Pacific Partnership Strategy and other initiatives, as
well as $810 million in “additional expanded programs” for
the region, subject to congressional approval.
At the second U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit, held in
September 2023, the Biden Administration announced that
it would ask Congress for $200 million in additional
Source: Congressional Research Service
funding for the region. Since 2022, proposed expanded
Geopolitical Context
programing for the region has included support for
The PICs are scattered over a broad expanse of ocean and
managing fisheries and combatting illegal, unreported, and
divided among three subregions—Melanesia, Polynesia,
unregulated (IUU) fishing; addressing the effects of climate
and Micronesia (see Figure 1). The United States has long
change; infrastructure investment; development financing;
held major economic and strategic roles in the Micronesian
security cooperation; and digital connectivity and
subregion, home to two U.S. territories (Guam and the
cybersecurity. Other U.S. efforts include the following:
Northern Mariana Islands) and to the Freely Associated
• The United States has established new embassies in the
States—Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Federated
Solomon Islands (SI) and Tonga, with plans to open
States of Micronesia (FSM), and Republic of Palau. U.S.
embassies in Vanuatu and Kiribati.
territory American Samoa lies in the Polynesian subregion,
•
where France has territories (collectivities) and military
In 2022, the State Department designated Ambassador
bases. Australia and New Zealand maintain strong relations
Frankie Reed as the first-ever U.S. Envoy to the Pacific
with much of the region, particularly in Melanesia.
Islands Forum, the main regional organization.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is the main multinational
organization in the region. Headquartered in Fiji, the PIF
https://crsreports.congress.gov
The Pacific Islands
has 18 members—14 PICs, two French “overseas
grants, which some analysts say could lead to unsustainable
collectivities,” Australia, and New Zealand.
debt burdens and greater PRC leverage among some PICs.
The United States and the Region
China’s Influence
China has become a significant actor in the region through
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, based in Hawaii, encompasses
diplomacy and economic engagement. The PRC is an
the Pacific Islands as part of its area of responsibility. The
important market for PIC natural resource exports and
U.S. military has air and naval bases on Guam and operates
tourism. Ten PICs have joined China’s Belt and Road
the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at
Initiative, which promotes PRC-backed infrastructure
Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The Department of
development. China’s fishing fleet in the region reportedly
Defense is building a high-frequency radar system in Palau.
has contributed significantly to IUU fishing. In 2022, the
The U.S. military has ties with Fiji, PNG, and Tonga, the
PRC proposed a diplomatic, economic, and security pact
only PICs with regular armed forces. The Biden
Administration’s
between China and the region that was dropped due to
Indo-Pacific Strategy (February 2022)
states that the United States “will work with partners to
objections among some PICs. According to some reports,
China has interfered in domestic politics in the region, such
establish a multilateral strategic grouping that supports
as in the RMI and the Solomon Islands.
Pacific Island countries as they build their capacity and
resilience as secure, independent actors.”
According to some analysts, the Solomon Islands has
become China’s closest partner in the region. In March
The U.S. Agency for International Development provides
2022, the Solomon Islands and China signed a security
assistance to the Pacific Islands focusing on disaster
agreement, ostensibly aiming in part to address “internal
prevention and response, climate resiliency, and sustainable
threats,” including protecting Chinese-owned businesses in
fisheries. Other assistance priorities include supporting
the country. SI’s decision to switch diplomatic recognition
government and civil society, digital connectivity, energy,
from Taiwan to China in 2019, combined with inter-ethnic
health, and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in PNG.
tensions, culminated in anti-government demonstrations
The United States has shiprider agreements with 12 PICs,
and unrest in Honiara, the SI capital, in 2021, including
allowing local law enforcement officers to embark on U.S.
rioting and the burning of properties in the city’s
naval and coast guard ships in order to board and search
Chinatown. Some U.S. and Australian observers fear the
vessels suspected of violating laws and to combat IUU
pact could lead to a PRC military presence in the Solomons.
fishing. Over half of the world’s tuna is harvested in the
region. The Department of State provides annual assistance
Security Challenges and Responses
to Pacific Island parties to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty to
The United States works with allies and partners,
support sustainable fisheries ($31 million in FY2023). The
particularly Australia and New Zealand, to address potential
Biden Administration requested to increase this aid to $60
PRC security threats in the region. Some analysts assert that
million annually for ten years (as part of the $810 million it
PRC infrastructure projects in the region, such as building
pledged in September 2022).
or upgrading airports and seaports in Kiribati, Samoa, the
The Freely Associated States
Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu, could be converted for PRC
military use. In 2018, Australia outbid China to upgrade
The Compacts of Free Association grant the United States
Blackrock military camp in Nadi, Fiji. That same year,
the prerogative to operate military bases in the FAS and to
Australia and the United States agreed to jointly develop
make decisions related to their external security. They also
Lombrum naval base in PNG to preempt PRC investment.
entitle the FAS to U.S. security guarantees and economic
assistance. In 2023, the United States signed bilateral
The United States, Australia, and Japan have cooperated on
agreements with the RMI, FSM, and Palau to extend
efforts to deter PRC telecommunications investments in the
Compact economic assistance for another 20 years ($7.1
region, which some analysts say could pose potential
billion in total, including $634 million to continue the U.S.
threats to cybersecurity. In 2019, Australia financed an
Postal Service in the FAS). The 2023 Compact agreements
undersea telecommunications cable connecting PNG, the
and funding are to be approved by both houses of Congress.
Solomon Islands, and Australia, thereby precluding Chinese
The continuing resolution that became law on January 19,
telecommunications firm Huawei from undertaking the
2024 (P.L. 118-35) extended economic assistance to the
project. In 2022, however, the Solomon Islands unveiled a
RMI and FSM at current levels through March 8, 2024.
plan to borrow $100 million from a PRC bank to fund
(For further information, see CRS In Focus The Compacts
Huawei’s construction of 161 cell towers. In 2020 and
of Free Association, by Thomas Lum.)
2021, the United States, Australia, and Japan partnered to
finance undersea telecommunications cables for Kiribati,
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the United States are
Micronesia, Nauru, and Palau.
the top foreign assistance donors in the region. Most U.S.
Bougainville
assistance to the region is provided to the FAS pursuant to
the Compacts. Other major aid providers include China, the
In a nonbinding 2019 referendum, 98% of the inhabitants of
European Union, and Taiwan. Taiwan has diplomatic
the island of Bougainville in PNG voted for independence.
relations with three PICs (RMI, Palau, and Tuvalu), while
The Bougainville and PNG governments are in the process
China has relations with eleven. Nauru switched relations
of negotiating a roadmap for independence, which requires
from Taiwan to the PRC in January 2024; Kiribati and the
approval by the PNG parliament.
Solomon Islands recognized China and severed relations
with Taiwan in 2019. The PRC provides most of its
Thomas Lum, Specialist in Asian Affairs
development assistance in the form of loans rather than
IF11208
https://crsreports.congress.gov
The Pacific Islands
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
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reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
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https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF11208 · VERSION 12 · UPDATED