Days ahead of the first-ever US-Pacific Island Country Summit, the leaders of Pacific nations called on Washington to treat all the countries in the region with "respect" and empathize with their climate change concerns, rather than trying to impose its own agenda.
"There is a desire for increased US engagement in region but also a profound desire for the US to treat all Pacific Island countries with respect," David Panuelo, chairman of the Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders and president of the Federated States of Micronesia, said after a closed-door meeting held with US officials in Hawaii.
Named "Puʻuhonua" or "The Pacific Way Forward," the annual event is attended by leaders and officials from 16 Pacific Island nations and territories.
In the wake of China's growing influence in the Pacific and US attempts to counter it, Panuelo said that Pacific nations accept the reality of the so-called "great power competition," but "we are not interested" in it, as "it's a given." According to Panuelo, local governments want China and the US to "compete in a healthy manner" to maintain peace in the region.
Regarding the upcoming "US-Pacific Island Country Summit," scheduled for September 28-29, Panuelo said there would be a "strong focus" on climate change. "Climate change will be a bigger challenge than the Second World War," he said.
7 September 2022, 10:53 GMT
However, controversy has already erupted ahead of the summit as the White House invited only 12 fully independent Pacific Island countries, but not the Cook Islands, Niue, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, etc.
Panuelo said Samoa and Niue had already "flagged concerns" over the issue.
Since China announced its first-ever security pact with the Solomon Islands in April, the White House rushed several officials to the Pacific and announced measures to counter Beijing's influence.
In April, senior State Department officials visited the Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea, where they made several commitments, including reopening the US Embassy in the Solomons.
In June, the White House launched the "Partners in the Blue Pacific" initiative with the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, aiming to "forge closer connections with Pacific governments."