US, Australia commit $738m in support for Pacific Islands

SYDNEY/WASHINGTON — Australia and the United States on Wednesday (Sept 2) announced a combined US$580 million (S$738 million) in funding for the Pacific Islands as they battle China for influence in the region.The US contribution, while smaller at US$150 million, is one of the most public signals from the Trump administration that it is still engaged in the Pacific after it dismantled the US Agency for International Development last year.The funding, announced by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau at this year’s meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau, follows an increase in China’s influence in recent years via grants, infrastructure projects and donations.These include the donation of a presidential building complex in Vanuatu, a comprehensive strategic partnership with the Solomon Islands including a deal on policing co-operation as well as a comprehensive strategic partnership with the Cook Islands.”Chinese measures in the region are a forcing function for the US to understand to be more deliberate in their engagement,” said Jared Mondschein, director of research at the United States Studies Centre.