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Tiny Cook Islands, Niue to get US embassies amid Biden’s powered-up Pacific push

  • The US president has put a premium on improving relations with Pacific nations amid rising concern about China’s growing influence in the region
  • Fewer than 2,000 people call isolated Niue home, while the sprawling Cook Islands have a permanent population well under 20,000

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Joe Biden speaks during last year’s US-Pacific Island Country Summit in Washington, where the White House unveiled its Pacific strategy. Photo: AP
Associated Press
US President Joe Biden was set to announce the opening of new embassies in the Cook Islands and Niue on Monday as his administration aims to demonstrate to Pacific island leaders that it remains committed to increasing American presence in the region.
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The announcement about the new diplomatic missions in the South Pacific comes as Biden prepares to welcome leaders to Washington for the two-day US-Pacific Island Forum Summit. Talks are expected to heavily focus on the impact of climate change in the region.
Biden has put a premium on improving relations in the Pacific amid rising US concern about China’s growing military and economic influence. Plans about the embassies were confirmed by two senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity before the formal announcement.
Coral on Niue Island in the South Pacific. The tiny island state is set to join fellow Pacific nations Solomon Islands and Tonga, which both got new US embassies earlier this year. Photo: Conservation International / AFP
Coral on Niue Island in the South Pacific. The tiny island state is set to join fellow Pacific nations Solomon Islands and Tonga, which both got new US embassies earlier this year. Photo: Conservation International / AFP

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would use the summit to strengthen “ties with the Pacific islands and discuss how we address complex global challenges, like tackling the existential threat of climate change, advancing economic growth, and promoting sustainable development.”

The leaders were scheduled to be feted on Sunday at a Baltimore Ravens football game and to visit a coastguard cutter in Baltimore Harbour for a briefing by the commandant of the US coastguard on combating illegal fishing and other maritime issues.

Pacific island leaders have been critical of rich countries for not doing enough to control climate change despite being responsible for much of the problem, and for profiting from loans provided to vulnerable nations to mitigate the effects.

At last year’s summit, the White House unveiled its Pacific strategy, an outline of its plan to assist the region’s leaders on pressing issues like climate change, maritime security and protecting the region from overfishing. The administration pledged the US would add US$810 million in new aid for Pacific Island nations over the next decade, including US$130 million on efforts to stymie the impacts of climate change.
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