{"id":75372,"date":"2022-09-26T06:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-09-25T20:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=75372"},"modified":"2022-09-25T20:31:57","modified_gmt":"2022-09-25T10:31:57","slug":"the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/","title":{"rendered":"The US comes back to the South Pacific"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

The first US summit with South Pacific leaders offers symbolism and the chance of future substance. The US announces, \u2018We\u2019re back!\u2019<\/p>\n

The summit on Wednesday and Thursday is a statement that the US can no longer leave Melanesia and Polynesia to Australia and New Zealand. That division of responsibilities<\/a> worked well over 50 years. No more.<\/p>\n

\u2018The United States now finds itself having to address long years of relative neglect<\/a>,\u2019 observes the former Australian diplomat Richard Maude. \u2018US interests are largely defined by China\u2019s gains.\u2019<\/p>\n

In this century, the global<\/a> balance<\/a> will be set in the Indo-Pacific, and that makes the South Pacific part of the great geostrategic struggle. At the summit, the South Pacific can sample the view and feel the weight that accompanies a new reality.<\/p>\n

Setting up the Washington meeting with island leaders<\/a>, the White House leaned on the symbolism:<\/p>\n

The Summit will demonstrate the United States\u2019 deep and enduring partnership with Pacific Island countries and the Pacific region that is underpinned by shared history, values, and people-to-people ties. The Summit will reflect our broadening and deepening cooperation on key issues such as climate change, pandemic response, economic recovery, maritime security, environmental protection, and advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rely on Washington to deliver great symbolism. The substance that must roll out in the months and years to come will need to reverse a long absence of mind<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The absence partly explains missteps on the initial guest list for the summit: no invites<\/a> for Cook Islands, Niue, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, despite all being members of the Pacific Islands Forum.<\/p>\n

In the same way, the State Department could this month summon up more than 50 examples of \u2018new US assistance and ongoing engagement<\/a> with the Pacific Islands as part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy\u2019, but the only two references to the Pacific Islands Forum in the list were to its fisheries agency. One of the skills Washington will have to pick up is the ability to speak PIF.<\/p>\n

See PIF-speak at its best in the superb act of imagination and region-building that is the Blue Pacific Continent<\/a>. The US embraced this with the creation of the Partners in the Blue Pacific<\/a> (founding members: Australia Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom) based on three principles: deliver results for the Pacific more effectively and efficiently, bolster Pacific regionalism, and expand opportunities for cooperation between the Pacific and the world.<\/p>\n

Ahead of the Washington summit, the foreign ministers<\/a> from the Partners in the Blue Pacific met in New York last week to lay out six lines of effort<\/a>\u2014climate change; technology and connectivity; the ocean and the environment; people; resources and economic development; and political leadership and regionalism\u2014and to welcome Germany and Canada as prospective members.<\/p>\n

The Blue Pacific partnership will offer a larger working of the wry line by US Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell that Washington intends to be a \u2018better deputy sheriff\u2019<\/a> to Australia and New Zealand in the South Pacific. A more apt image is that the US intends to join a bigger and better posse. Cowboy language always works a treat for Washington, although not so much in PIF-speak.<\/p>\n

Whatever the imagery, the substance must be a US that\u2019s constantly present in the South Pacific and delivers for the islands\u2019 people. Hear that from the doyen of Solomon Islands journalism, Dorothy Wickham, in her New York Times<\/em> op-ed<\/a>. She offers a simple lesson for the US as it vies with China for influence across the Pacific:<\/p>\n

You have got to show up.\u00a0And the United States has not.<\/a><\/p>\n

We get it. The Solomon Islands is small, remote and economically insignificant. But if all countries like us are dismissed as such, China will pick us off one by one with its promises of business projects and development aid.<\/p>\n

For decades, we identified with the West, a legacy forged when the United States, Australia and their allies halted Japan\u2019s imperial advance during World War II in the Battle of Guadalcanal. But that was long ago. There is a creeping sense today that we are being ignored, if not forgotten. So who can blame us if we open the door to new friends who can help with our needs?<\/p>\n

And those needs are great.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, the US moves to re-establish<\/a> an embassy in Solomon Islands, after closing it in 1993. The Honiara return was announced by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a speech in Suva\u2014the first visit to Fiji by a US secretary of state since 1985. Spot a pattern?<\/p>\n

The \u2018we\u2019re back\u2019 message ran through the address to the PIF summit in July by Vice President Kamala Harris, promising a new chapter of partnership<\/a>: \u2018We recognize that in recent years, the Pacific Islands may not have received the diplomatic attention and support that you deserve.\u00a0So today I am here to tell you directly: we are going to change that.\u2019<\/p>\n

Harris announced new US embassies in Tonga and Kiribati, the first US envoy to the forum, and the return of Peace Corps volunteers to the South Pacific.<\/p>\n

Expect more on those lines from President Joe Biden this week. As ever, Washington will put on a great show.<\/p>\n

While enjoying the pomp and attention, island leaders might note that other parts of the world are also getting a \u2018we\u2019re back\u2019 embrace. The new US strategy towards sub-Saharan Africa released by the White House last month has similar language about reframing American policy<\/a> to respond to \u2018growing foreign activity and influence\u2019.<\/p>\n

Island leaders will have to find the positives in the US turning its eyes towards the southern hemisphere, whatever the regional context. They\u2019ve had decades to understand that Washington is ever a world unto itself.<\/p>\n

This week, though, Washington world meets the world of the islands, because much has changed in the world.<\/p>\n

The chance for much more of substance from the US in the South Pacific will be the promise from a well-polished summit display of what Washington has to offer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first US summit with South Pacific leaders offers symbolism and the chance of future substance. The US announces, \u2018We\u2019re back!\u2019 The summit on Wednesday and Thursday is a statement that the US can no …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":75374,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17,2160,99,31],"class_list":["post-75372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australia","tag-pacific-islands","tag-south-pacific","tag-united-states"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe US comes back to the South Pacific | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The US comes back to the South Pacific | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The first US summit with South Pacific leaders offers symbolism and the chance of future substance. The US announces, \u2018We\u2019re back!\u2019 The summit on Wednesday and Thursday is a statement that the US can no ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-25T20:00:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-25T10:31:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/GettyImages-1238396970.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"658\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Graeme Dobell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Graeme Dobell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/GettyImages-1238396970.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/GettyImages-1238396970.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":658,\"caption\":\"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken watches a cultural farewell ceremony during his visit to Nadi, Fiji on February 12, 2022. (Photo by KEVIN LAMARQUE \/ POOL \/ AFP) (Photo by KEVIN LAMARQUE\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/\",\"name\":\"The US comes back to the South Pacific | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-25T20:00:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-25T10:31:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The US comes back to the South Pacific\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f\",\"name\":\"Graeme Dobell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Graeme Dobell\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/graeme-dobell\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The US comes back to the South Pacific | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The US comes back to the South Pacific | The Strategist","og_description":"The first US summit with South Pacific leaders offers symbolism and the chance of future substance. The US announces, \u2018We\u2019re back!\u2019 The summit on Wednesday and Thursday is a statement that the US can no ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2022-09-25T20:00:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-09-25T10:31:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":658,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/GettyImages-1238396970.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Graeme Dobell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Graeme Dobell","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/GettyImages-1238396970.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/GettyImages-1238396970.jpg","width":1024,"height":658,"caption":"US Secretary of State Antony Blinken watches a cultural farewell ceremony during his visit to Nadi, Fiji on February 12, 2022. (Photo by KEVIN LAMARQUE \/ POOL \/ AFP) (Photo by KEVIN LAMARQUE\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/","name":"The US comes back to the South Pacific | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2022-09-25T20:00:39+00:00","dateModified":"2022-09-25T10:31:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-us-comes-back-to-the-south-pacific\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The US comes back to the South Pacific"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f","name":"Graeme Dobell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Graeme Dobell"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/graeme-dobell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75372"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75380,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75372\/revisions\/75380"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}