Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

It's all an extension of shift from Europe to check China's growing influence ..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asian_foreign_policy_of_the_Barack_Obama_administration .

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FACT SHEET: Following Through on the U.S.-Pacific Islands Partnership 53rd Pacific
Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting in Nuku’Alofa, Tonga August 26-30, 2024

Since coming into office, the Biden-Harris administration has worked tirelessly to broaden and deepen its engagement with Pacific island countries as a priority of U.S. foreign policy. As a Pacific nation, the United States has a clear and abiding interest in partnering with its Pacific neighbors to advance a shared agenda: addressing the climate crisis, maintaining peaceful waterways and upholding freedom of navigation, promoting development and economic growth, and deepening people-to-people ties. The United States has and will continue to advance our shared priorities in a careful, consultative manner [... OOPS, until trash Trump arrived again ...] that centers the Pacific Islands Forum as the region’s institution of choice, including at the 53rd Pacific Island Forum Leaders Meeting taking place in Tonga this week. And we will seek to engage other friends of the Pacific through groupings like the Partners in the Blue Pacific and the Quad to ensure engagement with the region is conducted in a way that best meets Pacific needs, as identified in guiding documents like the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent and the Boe Declaration.

Over the last three and a half years, the Biden-Harris administration has hosted two historic Pacific Islands Forum Summits at the White House; opened three new embassies in Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu; released the first ever U.S.-Pacific Partnership Strategy; and announced plans, working with Congress, to provide over $8 billion in new funding for the Pacific Islands. The United States recognized Cook Islands and Niue as sovereign and independent states and established diplomatic relationships with them; expanded USAID offices in Papua New Guinea and Fiji; returned the Peace Corps to Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu; and increased the availability of U.S. consular services to enable easier travel. We have surged Coast Guard resources to help Pacific island countries safeguard their maritime territories against illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; launched National Guard State Partnership Programs with Samoa and Papua New Guinea; and tended to tens of thousands of medical patients during missions by the hospital ship USNS Mercy. And we have worked to uplift the economies of the Pacific by launching a $50 million microfinance facility for micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); co-hosting a Pacific Banking Forum with Australia; investing in secure and resilient internet infrastructure throughout the region; and recruiting a delegation of U.S. companies to explore business opportunities at a seminar in Suva.
https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/08/27/fact-sheet-following-through-on-the-u-s-pacific-islands-partnership-53rd-pacific-islands-forum-pif-leaders-meeting-in-nukualofa-tonga-august-26-30-2024/

The impact of Donald Trump's second term in office on the Pacific

Scott Waide for Politok Posted 1 Jul 2025

Donald Trump's second term as US President has initiated changes globally, with executive orders impacting international aid and climate agreements. These actions are creating ripples across the Pacific, influencing critical programs and diplomatic landscapes.

At the beginning of 2025, Mr Trump signed numerous executive orders, including decisions to cut aid funding and withdraw from international climate agreements. These moves directly affect vital programs in the Pacific, particularly climate action and public health initiatives.
https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/donald-trump-impact-second-term-on-pacific/105400466