Biden vows US commitment to Pacific Islands at summit

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By AAMER MADHANI, MATTHEW LEE and DARLENE SUPERVILLE

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday told visiting leaders from more than a dozen Pacific Island countries that the U.S. was committed to bolstering its presence in their region and becoming a more collaborative partner as they face the “existential threat” of climate change.

The president addressed the leaders who gathered in Washington for a summit as the White House looks to improve relations in the Pacific amid growing U.S. concern about China’s growing military and economic influence.

“A great deal of history of our world is going to be written in the Indo-Pacific over the coming years and decades,” Biden said at the start of a meeting with island leaders at the State Department. “And the Pacific Islands are a critical voice in shaping the future, and that’s why my administration has made it a priority to strengthen our partnership with your countries.”

Biden delivered his remarks as his administration unveiled its Pacific strategy, an outline of the White House’s plan to assist the region’s leaders on pressing issues like climate change, maritime security and protecting the area from overfishing. The administration also pledged that the U.S. would add $810 million in new aid for Pacific Island nations over the next decade, including $130 million on efforts to stymie the impacts of climate change.



President Joe Biden, center, poses for a photo with Pacific Island leaders on the North Portico of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. From left, New Caledonia President Louis Mapou, Tonga Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni, Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano, Micronesia President David Panuelo, Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Biden, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, Marshall Islands President David Kabua, Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, French Polynesia President Edouard Fritch and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/biden-business-china-antony-blinken-climate-and-environment-769e80b0ab96de6521ab52deae3cbca4?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=TopNews&utm_campaign=position_08

[oioioi]

1. standing next to Manasseh Sogavare...

Solomon Islands’ prime minister, saying it had been maligned for China pact, denounces US

Manasseh Sogavare tells the UN General Assembly the Solomons had endured ‘a barrage of unwarranted and misplaced criticisms, misinformation and intimidations’

Solomons became a cause of concern for Washington after it emerged that Sogavare had signed a security agreement allowing the Chinese navy to dock in the islands

The prime minister of the Solomon Islands told the United Nations General Assembly on Friday that his country had been maligned over its closer relationship with China to the point of "intimidation".

In a speech that included language that echoed Beijing's, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare also decried Washington's engagement with Taiwan and its plan to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines through the Aukus alliance announced last year.

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/solomon-islands-e2-80-99-prime-minister-saying-it-had-been-maligned-for-china-pact-denounces-us/ar-AA12b87h

[Hekate]

2. Thank gods. They are so vulnerable to being wiped out by rising seas & China's incursions

I hope the US can help