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Pacific leaders have warned the U.S. government that delays in approving a funding package for the region could give Beijing an opening as it seeks to shift allies in the Pacific and distance Taiwan from as many diplomatic allies as possible.
Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Marshall Islands (RMI) and Palau in 2023 Agree to renew 20-year funding agreement with the United StatesUnder the deal, known as the Compact of Free Association (COFA), Washington provides economic aid to Pacific nations in exchange for exclusive military use of a vast strategic area of the Pacific.
Yet despite bipartisan support for the new program, known as the Compact of Free Association (COFA), Congress has still not approved the funding months later — even though the additional amount requested is a relatively small $2.3 billion.
James Risch, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led 24 bipartisan senators in sponsoring an amendment that passed the Senate this week to include COFA funds in a controversial $95 billion wartime aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
According to Reuters, the presidents of the three COFA countries have become increasingly anxious about this and have sent several letters to emphasize the importance of the agreement.
In a joint letter to Senate leaders last week, they warned that the delay was “creating uncertainty among our peoples” and “providing undesirable opportunities for economic exploitation by competing political actors in the Pacific.”
“We … cannot overemphasize how important final approval by the United States Congress is to all of our nations,” they wrote.
In another letter, Palau President Soulanger Whipps explicitly warned that the delay played into China and Palau He hopes to accept China’s economic inducements and shift diplomatic recognition of Taiwan to Beijing. Whipps pointed out that the islands are larger than the combined area of the lower 48 states of the United States, and the COFA agreement gives the United States “strategic control of the sea and airspace between Hawaii and Asia.”
“Every day that passes without ratification of the agreement plays into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese leaders… who want to accept its seemingly attractive economic proposals at the expense of altered alliances, starting with Taiwan,” he wrote.
The letters of February 12 and 13 are from Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine issued a similar warning.
“Further delays … risk undermining confidence in the United States and encouraging some to accept China’s inducements,” Heine wrote.
Beijing claims Taiwan as a province of China and has vowed to one day annex the island in so-called “unification,” using military force if necessary. At the same time, Beijing has used military intimidation, economic coercion, cognitive warfare and diplomatic isolation to pressure Taiwan into accepting Chinese rule. In recent years, Beijing has wooed Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies, including Nauru in Januaryand Honduras 2023Currently, only 11 countries recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state, most of which are small countries in the Caribbean or Pacific regions.
Ambassadors from some allies have previously told the Guardian that they maintain ties with Taiwan for a variety of reasons, ranging from a firm adherence to the principle of small-nation solidarity to economic interests.
In 2023, COFA funds account for approximately 20% of the Marshall Islands government’s annual revenue and 30% of Palau’s government’s annual revenue.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Whipps a “steadfast ally” of Taiwan and said that despite the pressure, Taiwan reaffirmed its ties with Palau and was working to further strengthen cooperation arrangements, including tourism.
In recent years, Taiwan’s government has made it more clear that it would not object to other countries recognizing both it and Beijing, but Beijing has strictly prohibited any diplomatic allies from recognizing Taiwan.
One of the most controversial shifts in recent years has been in the Solomon Islands, Cut off diplomatic relations with Taiwan after 36 years and establish diplomatic relations with China instead India signed a lucrative trade agreement with Beijing in 2019 and a highly controversial security pact in 2023. The deal has stoked concerns among the United States and its Western and regional allies about Beijing’s growing military presence in the Pacific.
In January, the US-based Institute for the Study of War said the COFA agreement enabled the US to conduct extensive military operations through the vast territories of the three countries, including key sea routes.
“The loss of COFA funding would provide China with an opportunity to expand its economic influence over these important Pacific Island nations,” the report said.
Congressional aides told Reuters they were still working to find other ways to approve COFA funds, including possibly adding it to an emergency spending bill in March, but that was not guaranteed to succeed.
The Biden administration has repeatedly urged Congress to approve COFA funding and stressed that China is waiting to take advantage of the opportunity.
When asked about the delay, a State Department spokesperson said: “We reiterate our call on Congress to pass legislation related to the compact as soon as possible.”
Mira Rapp-Hooper, the White House senior director for East Asian affairs, told the U.S. Institute of Peace think tank on Thursday that receiving COFA funding “is truly second to none for the strategic mission that we have to undertake this year.”
“It has to be done,” she said.
Reuters contributed to this report
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