The United States needs to ramp up diplomatic ties with Freely Associated States (FAS)—Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia—to restrict Beijing’s expansionism in the Pacific region, according to a new report.
The United States Institute for Peace said Beijing saw Pacific nations as a “low-investment, high-reward” opportunity.
“China has not focused on the FAS in its influence-building efforts in the Pacific to the degree it has focused on South Pacific nations, but nonetheless is positioning itself to take advantage of any deterioration in U.S.-FAS relations,” the report said.
The Institute also said Beijing was looking to project force beyond the “first island chain” a line of major islands including Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines….