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Description
[The following are excerpts of the statement presented to Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Washington, D.C., March 15, 2007.]
This is the first hearing held by this Subcommittee devoted primarily to the South Pacific since 2002, and I welcome the opportunity to address our policy towards these nations. The United States has a tradition of strong ties with the fourteen countries of the South Pacific. Including historical and cultural links with Australia, New Zealand and the islands that go back over two centuries. Our trusteeship relations and now Compacts of Free Association with the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau. And to the diplomatic relations we established with South Pacific nations as they became independent between 1962 and 1980.
We believe it is crucial to keep this vast, strategic region and its mostly small, sometimes struggling states firmly on our side. Growing political, environmental and economic challenges, compounded by longer-term transnational threats, menace some of the fragile island societies. We are seeking to expand our engagement and reverse any perception that the U.S. has withdrawn from the Pacific.
The Year of the Pacific
It is true that the nations of the Pacific have not always received either adequate diplomatic attention or development assistance. Budget constraints and policy priorities during the 1990s often limited our diplomatic representation and the aid we could offer. But that was then and this is now. While there is no immediate prospect of greatly increased budget resources, we believe we can reverse this trend and are working hard to increase U.S. engagement in the Pacific. Our goal is to step up our efforts to promote prosperity, good governance, and the rule of law in the region. Toward that end, we are labeling 2007 the Year of the Pacific and developing a whole government approach with the Department of Defense (DoD), Coast Guard, Department of the Interior, U.S. Trade Representative, Peace Corps and other agencies to expand our presence and activities in the region.
The Department of State (DOS) has taken the lead in this effort. We are stepping up our diplomatic presence in the region by creating and staffing two positions at our Embassy in Suva with responsibility for the Pacific region. One position is a regional environmental, science, and health officer who is working on issues like climate change, fisheries, and human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). The other is a regional public diplomacy... |
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