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photo: New Zealand Pacific Radio
Two US Pacific territories have moved a step closer to upgraded membership of the region’s main political decision-making body, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
The forum confirmed to Radio Pacific New Zealand that its representatives have visited Guam and American Samoa in a bid to join the forum of US territories.
Guam’s acting governor, Lt. Joshua Tenorio, asked that both territories be included in the negotiations.
Esala Nayasi, deputy secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum, said the applications were on the agenda for the 53rd forum leaders’ meeting scheduled for next month.
In June this year, the US government agreed to allow its Pacific territories to join the Pacific Islands Forum as non-voting associate members, changing the old policy that prohibited these territories from participating in international organizations in “any capacity”.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has previously said their political status means they cannot become voting members but supported their application to become non-voting associate members.
“We have received applications from Guam and American Samoa. They have been assessed by the Secretariat with guidance from member states and will be submitted through the Forum process, with the earliest opportunity for leaders to contribute being in Tonga,” Nayasi said.
The Pacific Islands Forum is the region’s premier political and economic policy organization, established in 1971. It is an influential grouping in the region that is caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between the world’s superpowers.
The forum consists of 18 members, including Australia, the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
New Caledonia and French Polynesia are both French territories and are currently the only non-self-governing member states.
Tenorio told RNZ Pacific the group’s mission was to address and deal with issues affecting the region and it would not be complete without them.
“We implore the Pacific Islands Forum to ensure the participation of the Mariana Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa so that the Pacific Islands Forum truly becomes a comprehensive regional political organization for the entire Pacific.”
Pacific Islands Forum Leaders attending the 52nd Forum Leaders’ Meeting in the Cook Islands. November 2023.
photo: Photo courtesy Pacific Islands Forum
Tenorio said Guam’s motivation for participating in the forum is to fill a gap.
“It’s hard to believe that the ‘Blue Pacific Continental Strategy’ would exclude the Marianas because we were the first islands to make contact with other islands, we are one of the oldest civilizations in the Pacific outside of Melanesia. We have a lot going on and we are working towards sustainable development.”
Guam has been lobbying for pledges of support for its associate membership at the Pacific Arts and Culture Festival in Hawaii over the last month.
Tenorio said it’s an issue of equality.
“Even the Cook Islands and Niue, which have free association with New Zealand but have New Zealand citizenship, are considered full members. I think it’s really difficult and I hope we don’t end up being excluded from the Pacific Islands Forum. That would be a very sad thing.”
He said unity on climate change was vital.
It is also a vital transportation hub and link for Pacific travel, and has undersea cables for “high-speed internet… perfect transportation routes, enhanced by the presence of the U.S. military.”
“I think we can provide real assistance and improve the quality of life for people in the Pacific, and that’s our responsibility as leaders.”
U.S. President Joe Biden, center, poses for a photo with Pacific Islands Forum leaders after the Pacific Islands Forum Summit on the South Portico of the White House in Washington, September 25, 2023.
photo: Jim Watson
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