WASHINGTON: The United States (US) has a plan to open an embassy in the South Pacific island of Vanuatu, the US State Department said on Friday, in Washington’s latest move to raise its diplomatic presence in the Pacific to check China’s growing influence.
“Consistent with the United States Indo-Pacific strategy, the diplomatic presence in Vanuatu would allow the United States government to deepen ties with Ni-Vanuatu officials and society,” the State Department said.
It said, “Establishing United States Embassy Port Vila would facilitate places of potential bilateral collaboration and development assistance, also including efforts to tackle the climate issues,”
The United States has diplomatic ties with Vanuatu, which has a population of 319,000 spread over 80 islands but is currently represented by diplomats based in New Guinea.
US embassy after 30 years
After a thirty-year absence, the United States restarted its embassy in the Solomon Islands. The US State Department announcement follows a visit to the region this month, including Vanuatu, by United States Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell.
Other United States embassies have been planned in the Pacific island nations of Tonga and Kiribati.
For all the diplomatic push, the Solomon Islands announced that it had awarded the Chinese state company a million-dollar contract to upgrade the global port in Honiara.
The United States and its regional partners have held concerns that China has the goal to build a naval base in the region since the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with Beijing last year.
Washington has been working to renew committments with the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau, under which it retains responsibility for the islands’ defence and gains exclusive access to vast swaths of the Pacific.
The Biden government is seeking more than 7 billion dollars for economic assistance to the three countries over the next two decades. Last week, the State Department said funds are vital to insulating them from growing Chinese influence.
