US to recognise Niue and Cook Islands as sovereign states at Pacific summit

The US will provide additional $810 million in support to Pacific island countries and recognise Niue and Cook Islands as sovereign states, as part of the country s push to increase engagement with the region in the wake of China's growing presence in the Pacific.

President Joe Biden announced a series of measures on Thursday at the first US-Pacific Summit in Washington, which saw leaders from more than a dozen Pacific island countries visit the US.

Biden told leaders that the US was committed to bolstering its presence in the Pacific, especially as the region faces the existential threat of climate change. The $130 million will be spent on efforts to combat the effects of the climate crisis as part of the $810 million in new aid over the next decade.

The White House unveiled its Pacific strategy, outlining its plan to assist the Pacific on issues such as climate change, maritime security and protecting the area from overfishing.

The Pacific Islands are a critical voice in shaping the future, and that is why my administration has made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with your countries, said Biden at the start of a meeting with island leaders at the State Department.

We are seeing the effects of climate change around the world very vividly, including in the United States right now, and I know your nations feel it acutely. The summit came as China's influence in the Pacific has grown. The Solomon Islands signed a controversial security pact with Beijing earlier this year.

After indicating that it would not adopt the declaration issued by the US and Pacific countries at the conclusion of the summit, Solomon Islands prime minister Manasseh Sogavare joined other Pacific countries in signing the agreement.

The US has been criticised for being largely absent from the Pacific in recent decades, with White House officials acknowledging that US inattentiveness toward the region has left an opening for Beijing to exert influence on the region since the end of the Cold War.

The Pacific Strategy document issued by the US warned of the heightened geopolitical competition impacts for the Pacific Island countries, making reference to China.

Pressure and economic coercion by the People's Republic of China is increasing, which has serious consequences for the peace, prosperity and security of the region, and by extension, the United States, the strategy document says. These challenges demand renewed US engagement across the Pacific Islands. Leaders from Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia and New Caledonia have been in Washington for a two-day summit this week.

Vanuatu and Nauru sent representatives, and Australia, New Zealand and the secretary general of the Pacific Island ForumPacific Island Forum sent observers, according to the White House. The president hosted a dinner at the White House on Thursday night.

The administration said it would also establish a regional mission of the US agency for international development in Fiji s capital of Suva and reiterated plans to open embassies in the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Kiribati and to bring Peace Corp volunteers back to some Pacific countries.

The White House also announced plans to recognise the Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign states after appropriate consultations. The US currently recognises the islands as self-governing territories. Both of the states would be eligible for some of the new funding announced by the US.