Senior U.S officials said on Friday that the recent White House summit that involved a dozen Pacific Islands leaders last week was successful, and that Washington was listening to the region and not asking countries to choose between the U.S and China.
National Security Council senior director for Oceania, Dr Mira Rapp-Hooper at a teleconference on Friday told reporters that the conversations between Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pacific Island leaders were collaborative, constructive, forward looking and most importantly involved an incredible amount of listening by U.S government officials.
It was said that U.S President Joe Biden met the Pacific Islands’ leaders for a second summit in just over a year last Monday, pledging new infrastructure investment including subsea cables as part of a charm offensive aimed at curbing inroads by China into a region Washington considers strategically crucial.
Biden also pledged to work with Congress to provide US$200 million more in funding for projects aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change, spurring economic growth, countering illegal fishing and improving public health.
In attendance were leaders of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, New Caledonia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, French Polynesia, Nauru, Tuvalu and Palau.
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare, who has built close ties with China, said on Wednesday he skipped the summit to avoid a “lecture”.
Rapp-Hooper said the Biden Administration had reached out to Sogavare to encourage him to join, but was disappointed and did not attend.
The top diplomat for East Asia Daniel Kritenbrink stated that the United States was not asking countries to choose between development partners, and was optimistic about U.S partnerships in the region.
