UNITED STATES-OCEANIA-CHINA Agreement with Micronesia, another piece of the US containment of Beijing

A memorandum of understanding was signed for future US economic aid. Washington has signed similar pacts with the Marshall Islands and Palau. The Biden administration strengthens relations with the region to counter Chinese activism.

Washington () – The memorandum of understanding that the Biden administration revealed yesterday that it had signed with the Federated States of Micronesia is one more piece in the US efforts to contain the Chinese advance in the Indo-Pacific. It adds to recent agreements to strengthen military cooperation with Japan and the Philippines, focusing on the South Pacific front, where Beijing is increasingly active.

The agreement with Micronesia covers aspects for future economic aid from Washington to Micronesia; last month the US authorities had signed similar agreements with two other states in the region, the Marshall Islands and Palau.

Since the early 1980s the United States has established free association agreements with the three island countries. Under its terms, Washington has the right to take over its military defense in exchange for economic aid. Between this year and next the three agreements will expire and it is feared that Beijing could take advantage of the circumstance if they are not renewed.

The South Pacific is a region of high strategic value in the geopolitical confrontation between China and the United States. In May, the Chinese signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands, the terms of which are secret. The deal would ensure Beijing’s warships the right to make stopovers and refueling operations in the archipelago’s ports, an eventuality that Solomon’s Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has, however, repeatedly denied.

Unlike the Solomon Islands, the other states in the region have rejected the Chinese offer of a major regional pact on trade and security. The Federated States of Micronesia are among those that have expressed outspoken opposition to China’s initiative.

In the same area, Fiji’s new government, headed by Sitiveni Rabuka, has also begun to distance itself from Beijing, moving away from its predecessor’s line. Suva last month ended a training and sharing agreement with the Chinese police.