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1 1 (November 28, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govejog0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congress bnaI Research SerVice inforrnifth Ieuislative deba -. sin1C 1914 Updated November 28, 2022 The Pacific Islands Overvi ew The Pacific Islands region in the Southwest Pacific has emerged as an area of keen interest to major powers, largely due to the People's Republic of China's (PRC's) expanding engagement in the region. The region has strategic significance for the United States and hosts key U.S. military installations. Congressional considerations include bolstering diplomacy in the region, funding assistance in such areas as climate change, sustainable fisheries, and economic development, addressing security threats posed by China, and extending economic and other assistance for the Freely Associated States (see below). Some Pacific Island countries (PICs), such as Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji, are relatively large with extensive natural resources; others are quite small, sitting on top of low-lying coral atolls, with limited economic prospects and high vulnerability to the effects of climate change and sea level rise. PICs were among the first countries to ratify the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. 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. Over half of the world's tuna is harvested in the region. Many PICs rely on fisheries, tourism, and remittances for revenue. Although their remoteness helped most PICs to minimize Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections, travel and border restrictions have disrupted tourism and trade. In September 2022, the Biden Administration held the Pacific Islands Country Summit with PIC leaders in Washington, DC. The meeting represented a culmination of U.S. efforts to expand and deepen engagement in the region that began during the Trump Administration. In 2019, the State Department launched a new Pacific Islands regional foreign assistance program, and committed a total of $300 million in new funding as part of its Pacific Pledge in 2019 and 2020. In February 2022, Antony Blinken visited Fiji, the first U.S. Secretary of State to visit the country in 36 years, and in May 2022, Fiji became the first PIC to join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. In July 2022, the U.S. government announced plans to build new embassies in Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, and Tonga, and to appoint a U.S. Envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the region's main multilateral organization. Bills in the 117th Congress that support these efforts include S. 4648 and S. 4650. During the Pacific Islands Country Summit, the U.S. government announced the U.S. Pacific Partnership Strategy, the establishment of a Trade and Investment Dialogue with the Pacific Islands, and $810 million in additional expanded programs for the region, subject to congressional approval. It pledged increased funding for fisheries, urgent action to address climate change, additional COVID-19 assistance, and efforts to support infrastructure investment, bolster security cooperation and maritime protection, and improve digital connectivity and cyber security in the region, among other aims. The summit produced an 11-point multilateral agreement, the Declaration on U.S.-Pacific Partnership. G eopolitical Context The PICs are scattered over a broad expanse of ocean and divided among three sub-regions-Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia (see Figure 1.) The United States has long held major economic and strategic roles in the Micronesian subregion, home to two U.S. territories (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands) and to the Freely Associated States (FAS)-Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and Republic of Palau-which have special economic and security ties with the United States. U.S. territory American Samoa lies in the Polynesian subregion, where France has territories and military bases. Australia and New Zealand maintain strong relations with much of the region, particularly in Melanesia. The PIF, which has its headquarters in Fiji, has 17 members-13 PICs, two French overseas collectivities, Australia, and New Zealand. The organization recently has faced discord. In July 2022, Kiribati, which has strengthened its relations with China in recent years, formally withdrew. Kiribati President Taneti Maamau cited lingering misgivings over a PIF leadership dispute stemming from 2021, although analysts are uncertain about other possible motivations. Figure I. The Pacific Islands Region and Subregions Source: Congressional Research Service The United States and the Region U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, based in Hawaii, encompasses the Pacific Islands as part of its area of responsibility. The U.S. military has air and naval bases on Guam and operates the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The Department of

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