Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Government Media Office in Gaza: So far, 7 bodies have been recovered, while two remain under the rubble, in a scene that epitomizes genocide.
Government Media Office in Gaza: 9 children from one family were killed in an Israeli massacre against the "Al-Najjar" family in Khan Yunis.
Gaza Government Media Office: Over 300 miscarriages have occurred among pregnant women due to the lack of essential nutrients.
Gaza Government Media Office: 26 kidney patients have lost their lives due to the absence of nutritional and medical care.
Gaza Government Media Office: 58 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition, and 242 due to lack of food and medicine.
Ranjbaran to Al Mayadeen: There is a difficult path full of challenges ahead for the indirect talks
Ranjbaran to Al Mayadeen: Defending the Resistance, the Palestinian cause, the Lebanese Resistance, and confronting Zionist crimes throughout the entire region are at the top of the Foreign Minister’s agenda
Ranjbaran to Al Mayadeen:Currently, both Tehran and Washington consider uranium enrichment a red line, but the Americans' red line exists only on paper, whereas our red line is inviolable under any circumstances, and the Americans fully understand this
Ranjbaran to Al Mayadeen: Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi will not back down in the face of US pressure or its media tactics aimed at influencing the other party. They know well that he is a seasoned diplomat who will not lose his way
Ranjbaran to Al Mayadeen: "Israel" has proven that it makes decisions on behalf of the Trump administration and is using all its capabilities to sabotage these talks

1st US-Pacific Summit under fire for inadequate Biden proposal

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 28 Sep 2022 12:25
5 Min Read

The summit is proving to be a political embarrassment for Washington as the Solomon Islands reject a draft US agreement while Micronesian leaders raise serious concerns about “insufficient” financial assistance to the region.

  • x
  • Flags of the Pacific island nations (AFP)
    Flags of the Pacific island nations (AFP)

With US President Joe Biden hosting the US-Pacific Islands summit on Wednesday, which marks a first-ever invitation for Pacific leaders to be hosted at the White House, things are not are going according to plan.

The summit is thus far proving to be a political embarrassment for Washington as the Solomon Islands reject a draft US agreement, and Micronesian leaders raise serious concerns about “insufficient” financial assistance to the region.

According to leaked documents obtained by The Guardian, the summit which is intended to enrich and bolster relations with the Pacific islands and is significant in counteracting China’s growing engagement in the region, has sparked debate among the islands' leaders after the Solomon Islands refused to accept a US proposal. While the islands sought to address their climate emergency in July, US Vice President Kamala Harris announced in an unprecedented move a fund of $600 million to the islands in order "to counter the Chinese influence in the region."

Written by the Embassy of the Solomon Islands in New York, the leaked document reveals the nation's refusal to endorse a regional diplomatic agreement presented by the US: “Solomon Islands is not in a position to adopt the declaration this week and will need time to reflect on the declaration and refer the declaration through Solomon Islands’ national decision-making process,” says the note, which was addressed to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and seen by the Guardian. “Solomon Islands note that the declaration remains under discussion and have yet to enjoy consensus and will need further discussion.”

It is noteworthy that the country signed a security deal with China back in April, drawing the ire of Australia and the US despite their establishment of the nuclear-based AUKUS alliance only a few months earlier. Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare had termed international criticism of the country's security discussions with China "insulting" and those who leaked the draft security deal "lunatics".

Related News

US Congress allocates $7.1Bln to renew Pacific military presence

US nuclear tests still impact Marshall Islands, OHCHR finds

The US-Pacific partnership declaration draft which consists of 11 points binds Pacific countries and the US to collaborate “in the face of a worsening climate crisis and an increasingly complex geopolitical environment”. On the other hand, China's detailed security proposition earlier this year - rejected by 10 Pacific countries - stated in great detail the sums of money, nature of the programs and even the number of Chinese art troupes that would be sent to the islands within the frame of a cultural exchange program. The American draft, as opposed to the Chinese, draws a more general frame of principles of commitments, including expanding Pacific regionalism and boosting economic development, fighting the climate crisis, and protecting the Blue Pacific while maintaining peace and security. 

'Insufficient economic assistance' ignores climate change

The US has Compact of Free Association agreements with the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau, with the agreements of the former two due to expire next year and which stipulate the US' provision of financial assistance to them in exchange for defense responsibilities.

On Friday, The Marshall Islands suspended major discussions with the US over longstanding concerns, stretching back 70 years, pertaining to nuclear testing on the atolls in the middle of the Pacific. The Marshall Islands refused to continue discussions unless Washington addresses the persistent health, environmental, and economic difficulties caused by US nuclear testing on the picturesque atolls from 1946 to 1958.

The leaked letter from the ambassadors of all three Pacific governments the Guardian claims having obtained states: “The current proposed assistance is inconsistent with the contributions of our islands towards the security and stability of the region, which also supports US interests in the region.... the US-proposed economic assistance seems predetermined and based on insufficient analysis … To put it simply: the US economic assistance is insufficient", adding that “the governments we represent cannot rely on a successful outcome from what has been presented” in negotiations. 

The impacts of the climate crisis put the Small Developing Island States (SIDS) across the Pacific at grave risk, as a World Bank report last year predicted that entire islands would disappear, merely based on projections of a one-meter sea level rise - not to mention the heat waves and droughts that are affecting the region's crops and livestock, threatening their entire livelihood. 

This critical matter was addressed at the 76th United Nations General Assembly last year in New York, especially by Maldivian president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih who underlined that the slight difference between 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees Celsius could mean a 'death sentence' to the Maldives and the SIDS, which multinational corporations such as those in the US are gravely contributing to. 

“Our remarks may come across as heated, but the primary point is that this [climate change] is our hottest and most important topic,” said the ambassadors in the leaked letter. “We are unable to solve climate change, and unable to provide for our citizens’ education and health needs, unless and until these negotiations conclude, and conclude in such a manner that genuinely meet our development needs", concluding: “The gaps between the needs of our peoples and what has been offered are narrowed, but are far from closed".

  • Marshall Islands
  • US
  • SIDS
  • Solomon Islands
  • China
  • Joe Biden

Most Read

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben-Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

  • MENA
  • 18 May 2025
Rachel Accurso criticized for speaking out on Gaza children crisis

Ms. Rachel accused of antisemitism for speaking out for Gaza children

  • Politics
  • 20 May 2025
Martyrs, injuries in violent Israeli bombardment of southern Gaza

Israeli operation fails; IOF launch violent strikes on Gaza

  • Politics
  • 19 May 2025
The spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, giving a statement on Friday, April 11, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemeni Armed Forces declare Haifa Port under naval siege

  • Politics
  • 20 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
President Donald Trump, left, departs with U.S. Military Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven W. Gilland after speaking to United States Military Academy graduating cadets during commencement ceremonies in West Point, N.Y., Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Trump: US Army not for imposing democracy or culture abroad

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, on April 29, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu Shin Bet pick opposed prisoner swap deal, stirring outrage

Palestinians struggle to receive cooked food distributed at a community kitchen in the Muwasi area of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Friday, May 23, 2025. (AP)
Politics

UN refuses to cooperate with 'Israel', US firms in Gaza aid scheme

A woman displaying a portrait of martyred Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, shows her ink-stained thumb after casting her vote at a polling station during municipal elections in the town of Nabatieh, south Lebanon, Saturday, May 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Lebanon concludes municipal elections amid Israeli strikes on south

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS