AMN/ WEB DESK
US officials have stressed that newly-approved legislation providing billions of dollars in funding for three strategically important Pacific island nations is an important sign of American commitment. The legislation comes amid warnings that China is actively trying to pry them away from Washington’s sphere of influence. The renewal of funds for the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau – known collectively as the Freely Associated States – had been held up for months by broader infighting in the Congress over budgetary issues. The 7.1 billion dollars in aid was approved on March 9 this year. The new pact comes amid an American diplomatic push in the region, which gained new impetus when the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China in 2022.
Under this Compacts of Free Association (COFA) agreement, citizens of the three nations have the right to live and work in the US among other benefits. The first COFA agreement was signed with the US in the 1980s, and it has already been renewed once.
The Freely Associated States have a combined population of less than two lakhs, spread across more than 1,000 islands and atolls, about 4,000 kilometers southwest of Hawaii.