US, Its Partners vs China in Oceania: Why the Islands Matter

The US Pacific Partnership Strategy stipulates allocating hundreds of millions of dollars for Washington’s push to strengthen its foothold in Oceania.
The Pentagon has announced the first-ever test intercept of a ballistic missile target off Guam, a US territory in the Western Pacific. The past few years have seen the US and its partners bolster ties with island territories in Oceania, including military ones.

What are the Territories of US Interest?

December 2024: the Australia-Nauru security deal that stipulates Australia’s veto right over a range of pacts if the Pacific atoll opts to enter deals with third countries, including China.

May 2024: Australia’s similar agreement with Tuvalu, another Pacific Island nation.

November 2024: The US-Fiji logistics cooperation agreement endorsed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

November 2024: Announcement of plans to invest about $800 million in Tinian, part of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated US territory, to build up defense operations. The plans include the Pentagon reclaiming a WWII military airfield in Tinian.

China’s Position

China, for its part, views Oceania as a region of strategic importance, seeking to “increase its engagement” with Pacific Island countries, according to the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-bank think tank.

As of 2024, eleven states in Oceania have diplomatic relations with China, including Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Palau and the Solomon Islands.

April 2022 saw the China-Solomon Islands security agreement, which provides for the deployment of Chinese “police, armed police, military personnel and other law enforcement forces” to the former British protectorate.
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