Marshallese President Hilda Heine has warned that relations with the US are “gradually being destroyed by party politics” as the US Congress delays approval of crucial funding for the Pacific nation, but said it would not affect relations with Taiwan.
US lawmakers have not yet passed funding packages agreed to last year with the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), in a move some say is opening the door to China to build its influence in the Pacific region.
“Members of the Congress have to understand that the funds that the US has agreed to provide ... did not come because of the generosity of the US government and its citizens, but rather because of hard negotiations between the parties,” Heine said in e-mailed comments.
Photo: Reuters
The support is part of the Compacts of Free Association (COFA) agreements, which the US has in place with the three nations in the north Pacific. Under COFA, Washington provides visa-free residential and employment rights, economic assistance and other support to the nations, in return for exclusive military access to large and strategic areas of the Pacific.
“At the moment [the US-Marshall Islands relationship] is gradually being destroyed by party politics in the US Congress,” Heine said of the COFA funding delay.
Despite widespread bipartisan support, COFA is struggling to be passed in a deeply divided Congress that is mired in gridlock over funding for Israel, Ukraine, border legislation and the US government’s own operations.
COFA is seen by some in the Pacific as a test of Washington’s commitment to the region. In the Marshall Islands, the delay has affected funding for health, education and other services, while also inflaming concerns that the US does not support it — something Pacific politicians are sensitive to.
The compacts were first completed in the 1980s. Palau and FSM agreed to renew the compacts in the middle of last year, while the Marshall Islands struck a deal in October. Under the deal, the US agreed to provide the Marshall Islands with US$2.3 billion over 20 years.
The funding delay has raised questions about the effect it could have in a strategic region where Washington is competing with Beijing for influence and control.
The COFA nations are “the tip of the spear of US defense in the Pacific and are its most reliable ally,” Heine said.
She, along with the leaders of Palau and FSM, have written to the US Congress over the delay.
In one letter, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr reportedly said that the delay benefited China and politicians in Palau who wanted to accept Chinese economic inducements to shift diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing.
“Every day it is not approved plays into the hands of the [Chinese Communist party] and the leaders here,” Whipps wrote.
The Marshall Islands and Palau remain on a dwindling roster of 12 countries that have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, after Nauru last month abruptly shifted its alliance from Taipei to Beijing following the Taiwanese elections.
The funding delay does not directly jeopardize the Marshall Islands’ commitment to diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Heine said, describing the relationship as “dynamic” and “one of mutual respect and understanding, rooted in our common belief that democracy is the key to peace and security within and outside our region.”
“The bedrock of our relationship is our shared commitment to democracy and the rule of law,” Heine said. “China has neither.”
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