The United States is set to open a new embassy in Tonga later this month, according to Daniel Kritenbrink, the top US diplomat for East Asia. The move is part of a broader effort by the United States to strengthen its diplomatic presence in the Pacific region, amid growing concerns about China’s influence.
Kritenbrink informed a Senate Foreign Relations Committee subcommittee that the US was also engaged in discussions with Vanuatu and Kiribati about opening new embassies in those countries. In March, the State Department had announced plans to open an embassy in Vanuatu, which currently has its diplomatic relations with the US handled by officials based in Papua New Guinea.
The US reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands this year after a 30-year absence, but despite the diplomatic push, the Solomon Islands awarded a multi-million-dollar contract to a Chinese state company to upgrade an international port in Honiara.
This move has increased concerns among the US and its allies, Australia and New Zealand, that China intends to establish a naval base in the region. This fear arose after the Solomon Islands struck a security pact with Beijing last year.
The United States is also working to renew agreements with the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia, which allow it to retain responsibility for the islands’ defense and gain exclusive access to large portions of the Pacific.
To insulate these countries from China’s growing influence, the Biden administration is seeking $7.1 billion from Congress over the next two decades for economic assistance to the three countries.
Officials familiar with the matter also revealed that the United States is planning a possible stop by President Biden in Papua New Guinea on May 22, as part of its increased engagement with the Pacific-island region.
The US embassy in Tonga is set to open later this month, as the US continues its diplomatic push in the Pacific, in a bid to counter China’s influence in the region.
