Long declaring itself as an “Indo-Pacific nation,” the United States recently renewed and signed agreements with several Pacific Island countries (PICs), signaling its commitment to deepening security cooperation with these partners.
Backed by strong bipartisan support in Congress, an increased US military and diplomatic presence in the Pacific can continue to deter strategic competition with China and ensure peace and prosperity for both Pacific Island countries and the greater Indo-Pacific.
Overview
The Pacific Islands region is composed of 12 PICs, three US territories, two French territories, and one British territory organized into three subregions: Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Though the islands themselves are considered some of the smallest in the world in terms of population and land mass, the region encompasses around 15% of the Earth’s surface.
The United States has played an active role in the Pacific Islands region, providing crucial economic, development, and security assistance to the region. However, the growing threat of Chinese influence in the region has encouraged greater engagement and stronger cooperation between these historic partners.
What do the new defense agreements entail?
In recent years, the United States has strengthened its defense cooperation in the Pacific through newly signed security agreements that not only ensure closer relations with the region, but also provide substantial economic benefits—both crucial to the area’s economic security. One of the most significant of these is the recently renewed Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with the Freely Associated States (FAS): Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), and the Marshall Islands.
The Compacts are a series of agreements between the United States and FAS that institutionalize mutual defense interests as well as US economic assistance covering a 20-year period. The first COFA agreement was signed in 1986, and prior to 2023, was last renewed in 2003. After receiving strong bipartisan support from Congress a new COFA agreement was renewed again in 2024 under President Biden, granting the US military exclusive access to FAS land, water, and airspace in exchange for protecting all three countries from attack. The COFA terms also extend US rights to its military base on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands through 2066, while approving plans to construct a long-range radar system in Palau and upgrade an airport on Yap Island in the FSM.
Outside of the FAS and the Northern Pacific, the United States has also reaffirmed its defense partnerships with the rest of the Pacific region. In 2023, the United States—in a ceremony attended by former Secretary of State Antony Blinken— signed a new defense cooperation agreement with Papua New Guinea (PNG). The two countries also signed a second agreement focused on law enforcement and combatting transnational maritime crime. A year later, the United States and Fiji signed a new defense pact following a visit from former US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, marking the first time a US defense secretary had visited the country. Both agreements seek to enhance the US security partnership and modernize their respective militaries. Fiji and PNG are two of three PICs that have a standing military in the Pacific Islands. The third country, Tonga, maintains a strong security partnership with the United States, stemming as far back as World War II.
The United States has matched its growing military ties with an expanded diplomatic presence in the region, opening new embassies in the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu with plans underway to open an embassy in Kiribati and appoint a resident ambassador to Samoa. This expansion was made possible by the Pacific Islands Embassy Act, which garnered strong bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.
How do these new agreements benefit Pacific Island Countries?
The flurry of new security agreements with the United States brings numerous security and economic benefits to the Pacific region. As a result of the COFA agreements, the FAS states do not maintain their own militaries but FAS citizens have the option to serve in the US military as well as live and work in the United States without a visa. The US military has also emerged as a major humanitarian presence in the region, providing crucial aid for disaster relief as well as providing key services like infrastructure repair, search and rescue missions, and medical checkups for the local community.
The economic assistance provided by such agreements is also crucial to the recipient countries’ economic security and long-term development. In the current COFA agreement, the Marshall Islands, FSM, and Palau are set to receive a total of $2.3 billion, $3.3 billion, and $0.9 billion respectively in grant assistance and trust fund contributions over the course of the next two decades. Previous US economic assistance accounted for about one third to one half of the FAS’ government spending.
Meanwhile, the United States is set to invest over $864 million into PNG’s infrastructure and military capabilities under the new defense deal, while greatly increasing the capabilities of the country’s military. In Fiji’s defense deal, the United States plans to send defense equipment as well as $4.9 million towards small-arms recapitalization. Through US financial support, these small countries are now able to boast more capable defense forces that can enforce regional security in the Pacific.
Why is the United States realigning its focus on the Pacific specifically?
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, Beijing has increased its engagements with PICs leaders and attempted to expand its diplomatic footprint across the Pacific Islands. In 2022, China and the Solomon Islands secretly signed a bilateral security agreement boosting security cooperation and possibly allowing a Chinese military presence in the South Pacific. This has led to the government of the Solomon Islands to deny access for routine visits by UK and US ships in its ports. In January 2024, China signed an agreement with the Republic of Nauru to resume diplomatic relations, prompting the latter to sever ties with Taiwan and recognize the “one-China” policy. Leaders in both Palau and FSM have publicly denounced Chinese attempts to influence their governments through bribes or “red envelopes,” and gifts. Such developments have garnered bipartisan attention in Congress.
During a congressional hearing focused on US-Indo-Pacific strategy, Senator James Risch (R-Idaho), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that the threats of growing Chinese influence in the Pacific Islands “are bipartisan issues, not partisan ones.” “We have a long history of friendship with the Pacific Islands,” Senator Risch continued. “[We] must adjust [our] policies to demonstrate U.S. focus and commitment are not going anywhere.”
What’s next for the US-Pacific Islands Defense Partnership
Overall, the US’s series of recently signed agreements with the PICs demonstrates its commitment to ensuring regional security in the Pacific. Continued engagements with Pacific Island partners during the second Trump administration underscore yet again the bipartisan consensus of the region’s strategic importance. New Secretary of State Marco Rubio told senators during his confirmation hearing that US partnerships with the Pacific Island region are “important and bears great fruit”, stating that “we should continue to build on” the strong relationship between the two entities. In a follow up introductory meeting with New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, the two leaders discussed continuing efforts to “enhance security cooperation [in the Indo-Pacific]...and support the Pacific Islands.” During his congressional confirmation hearing, the new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth noted Guam, a US territory that also serves as a major military base, as "pretty strategically significant” for Pacific regional security.
In January 2025, US Representative Ed Case (D- Hawai‘i) and several members from the Congressional Pacific Islands Caucus reintroduced the Boosting Long-term US Engagement in the Pacific (BLUE Pacific) Act which outlines long-term US strategy in the Pacific Islands to deter Chinese influence and support the region’s development. The bill received strong bipartisan support from members including Congressman James Moylan (R-Guam), Congresswoman Jill Tokuda (D- Hawai‘i), and Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois).
Despite growing tensions and new challenges, the increasing US defense and security cooperation with its Pacific Island partners demonstrates the enduring commitment of both sides to protect and ensure a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific now and in the future.
Lois Ramilo is a Spring Young Professional at the East West Center in Washington. She is a recent graduate from the University of California, San Diego where she majored in international relations.