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She
will announce new measures including the establishment of new
U.S. embassies in Kiribati and Tonga, the appointment of the
first-ever U.S. envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum and bringing
the Peace Corps back to the region.
She will also establish a U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) regional mission in Fiji and announce a new
request asking Congress for economic assistance for the Pacific
Islands that is nearly triple the current levels.
"In short, the vice president will be announcing that we are
stepping up our game in the Pacific Islands," the senior
administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
told reporters. "This new chapter... will feature increased
diplomatic presence on the ground throughout the region," the
official said.
The Biden administration has vowed to commit more resources to
the Indo-Pacific as China seeks to boost economic, military and
police links with Pacific island nations hungry for foreign
investment.
Beijing's growing influence was highlighted by its security pact
with the Solomon Islands this year, a move that fanned concerns
in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
"We are not asking countries to choose...we are focusing on our
own engagement," the administration official said, when asked
about competition with China.
Washington has said it will expedite the opening of an embassy
in the Solomon Islands, announced earlier this year when
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Fiji, the first trip
there by America's top diplomat in four decades. https://reut.rs/3RkEzIZ
Tensions between China and the United States, and the withdrawal
of the remote Pacific island nation of Kiribati, have
overshadowed the Pacific Islands Forum as leaders arrived in
Fiji on Monday.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Christian
Schmollinger)
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