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1 1 (May 10, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzrg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service [rf~Ifo rm qhelJegisatve debate sncel19l4 0 May 10, 2019 The Pacific Islands Overview The Pacific Islands region in the Southwest Pacific is attracting increasing attention from U.S. foreign policy experts, largely driven by the People's Republic of China's (PRC's) expanding engagement in the region. Other concerns include climate change and sea level rise; challenges related to illegal fishing and the sustainability of fisheries in the region; and issues related to self- determination and decolonization. The region has strategic significance for the United States because it hosts key U.S. military installations and because Pacific nations are reliable supporters of U.S. diplomatic initiatives, particularly at the United Nations. In September 2018 at the 30th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Forum Partners Dialogue held in Nauru, then-U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke stated: The United States is deeply committed to the security and prosperity of our friends and neighbors in the Pacific.... We see all of the Pacific Islands as an essential part of our free and open Indo-Pacific policy.... When the United States invests in the Pacific Islands, we do so as a partner committed to a shared future that advances national sovereignty, regional cooperation, and trust. U.S. territories American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as the state of Hawaii, are an integral part of the United States' presence in the Pacific. The Freely Associated States (FAS) -the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and the Republic of Palau- are sovereign countries that through bilateral agreements with the United States (Compacts of Free Association) receive U.S. economic assistance while granting the United States the prerogatives to operate military bases on their soil and make decisions that affect mutual security. Background Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are scattered over a broad expanse of ocean and are divided among three sub-regions -Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia (Figure 1). Some, such as Papua New Guinea, are relatively large with extensive natural resources. Others, such as Tuvalu, are very small, low-lying coral atoll nations with limited economic prospects and critical vulnerability to the current and expected effects of climate change and sea level rise. Many PICs rely on fisheries, tourism, and remittances for revenue. The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, France, and the United States traditionally have played key security and economic roles in the region. Despite its remote location, the region periodically has been central in global affairs. It was of key strategic importance during World War II, as demonstrated by the battles of the Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Pelelieu. From 1946 to 1958, the United States conducted 67 atmospheric atomic and thermonuclear weapons tests over the Marshall Islands atolls of Bikini and Enewetak. In recent years, the Pacific Islands region has emerged as an arena of major power competition, with the United States, Australia, and New Zealand increasingly vying with China for influence among Pacific Island countries. The Pacific Islands Forum is the region's main political and economic policy organization. It has 18 members: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The organization has aimed to promote regional interests while maintaining good relations with the United States and its friends and allies in the region (particularly Australia and Japan) on the one hand, and China, on the other. Figure I. The Pacific Islands Region and Subregions Source: Congressional Research Service The United States and the Region U.S. engagement in the region includes security cooperation with Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga, which are the only PICs with military forces; sustainable fisheries management; and military and development assistance. The United States has significant military assets based in the Pacific. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, based in Hawaii, encompasses Oceania as part of its area of responsibility. The United States has air and naval bases on Guam and an intercontinental ballistic missile test site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, which also supports space surveillance activities. In 2018, the U.S. military held discussions with the Micronesian government about building naval facilities, https://crsrepots.cor

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