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Hilda Heine, President of the Republic Marshall IslandsThe Philippines’ relationship with the United States is “gradually being undermined by partisan politics” as the US Congress delays approving funding vital to the Pacific nation, it warned.
U.S. lawmakers have yet to pass a 2023 funding package agreed with the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Commonwealth. Micronesia (Federated States of Micronesia), a move some see as opening the door for China to expand its influence in the Pacific region.
“Members of Congress must understand that the funding the US has agreed to provide … did not come from the generosity of the US government and its citizens, but rather from hard-fought negotiations between the two sides,” Hein told The Guardian by email.
The aid is part of the Compact of Free Association (Cofa) signed between the United States and three North Pacific countries. Under Cofa, Washington provides visa-free residence and employment rights to these countries. Economic aid and other support were provided to these countries in exchange for exclusive military use of vast strategic locations in the Pacific.
Asked about the impact of the delay in Cofa funding, Hein said: “Right now (US-Malaysia relations) are being undermined by partisan politics in the US Congress.”
Despite broad bipartisan support, Cofa has struggled to pass Congress, which is deadlocked over funding. Israel, Ukraine, Border legislation and the workings of the U.S. government itself.
Some in the Pacific see Cofa as a test of Washington’s commitment to the region. In the Marshall Islands, Cofa’s postponement has affected funding for health, education and other services, while also raising concerns about the United States’ lack of support for Cofa — something Pacific politicians are sensitive about.
The agreements were first reached in the 1980s. Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia agreed to renew the agreement in mid-2023, while the Marshall Islands reached an agreement in October. Under the agreement, the United States agreed to provide the Marshall Islands with The total amount reached US$2.3 billion over 20 years.
“Both sides have something to bring to the table, otherwise there would be no negotiations and no new agreement,” Heine said, adding that at the United Nations Cofa countries tend to work collectively. Vote with America.
A spokesman for the U.S. Interior Department’s Office of Insular Affairs, which administers Cofa aid, declined to comment.
The delay in Cofa funding raises questions about its possible impact on the strategic region as Washington competes with Beijing Influence and control.
Heine said the Cofa nation is “the vanguard of America’s defence in the Pacific and its most reliable ally”.
in a letter On February 21, a bipartisan delegation of 48 House members submitted a report to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, saying that failure to approve the agreement would be “the most self-destructive gift the United States could ever give (China).”
They said that under the Joint Military Agreement, the United States gained “significant defensive rights in strategically key areas of the Pacific” as well as basing rights, operational control, and the right to deny third-country military access to an area of the Western Pacific equivalent in size to the United States mainland.
American-operated Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site Located on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the facility is described as “the Department of Defense’s premier … test range” and “tests all missile classes and intercept scenarios as well as space operations.”
Heine and leaders of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia also wrote to Congress to protest the delay. Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. reportedly warned in a letter that the delay Playing into the hands of Chinese and Palauan politicians He was willing to accept China’s economic inducements to get Taiwan to establish diplomatic relations with Beijing.
“Every day that passes without approval for this project plays into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party and the leadership here,” Whipps wrote.
this The Marshall Islands and Palau remain among a dwindling 12 countries on the list countries that have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In January this year, Nauru suddenly Changing alliances After Taiwan’s election, he flew from Taipei to Beijing.
Cofa funding delays will not directly threaten the Marshall Islands TaiwanHeine said that the China-US relationship is “full of vitality” and “mutual respect and understanding, rooted in our shared belief that democracy is key to maintaining peace and security in the region and beyond.”
“The cornerstone of our relationship is our shared commitment to democracy and the rule of law. China has neither,” Heine said.
Heine pointed out that the United States relation Relations with the Marshall Islands date back more than 200 years to the 19th century Whaling expedition and Christian missionaries. She described a “human connection” that endured the “tests and upheavals” of war and the 67 nuclear tests the United States conducted in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958.
In 2016, Heine Making history First female president She later served as a senator in the Marshall Islands’ lower house of parliament and won the presidency in January this year for a second non-consecutive term.
Photograph: Hilary Hosea/The Guardian
Since taking office, she has been working to address Food and energy crises and Destructive coastal flooding At least two atolls. The Marshall Islands recently completed National Adaptation Plans Prepare for worsening climate change.
The Marshallese Experience Forced displacement Its citizens now face the threat of rising sea levels and other climate impacts as a result of U.S. nuclear weapons testing.
The delay in Cofa funding comes as the Marshall Islands marks Nuclear Remembrance Day on March 1, marking the 70th anniversary of the nuclear war. Castle Bravo Thermonuclear testing at Bikini Atoll in 1954. The fallout from the largest nuclear weapon detonation ever conducted by the United States had devastating and widespread health effects.
Heine said, Four atollscountries considered to be the worst affected, “and the trauma and impact of the US nuclear weapons testing program are far from resolved.”
Heine said the $700 million included in the Cofa deal to resolve the nuclear issue was “a step in the right direction” but “does not absolve the legacy of pain and suffering.”
Jack Niedenthal, a longtime Marshall Islands resident and counselor to the Bikini Islanders, said many people wanted to see “acknowledgement and an apology” from the United States.
Niedenthal said delays in Cofa funding were affecting government services in the Marshall Islands and making the United States “look as if it doesn’t care.”
“This does not bode well for the United States in the region.”
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