‘U.S. threat assessment report has several blind spots’
The challenge is that the report needs more strategic and integrated intelligence to appropriately describe today’s threats to the United States and its partners and allies, says Jack Gaines.
Cleo Paskal
The Importance of America’s Pacific Family
Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands are the United States’ closest allies. And they’re essential for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Op-eds
COFA and the politics of delay
Tony Zielinski is a regular American citizen, who was enjoying his life in Florida. Then he read about the problems with the renewals of key elements of the Compacts of Free Association with Palau, the...
Op-eds
US Congress’ COFA Delay Jeopardizes a Key Element of the ’Free and Open Indo-Pacific’
The U.S. government concluded COFA renewal talks with Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands in 2023. Months later, Congress has yet to approve the funding.
Op-eds
In the Pacific, U.S. bureaucracy messes up against PRC influence operation
I have no idea what the U.S. State Department was thinking. But if the goal was to help honest people in a highly strategic country that is also a close ally protect themselves against Chinese influence...
Op-eds
Three upcoming events that could torpedo Pacific peace
Three things are going on that could turbo charge Chinese strategic expansion in the Pacific. U.S. DEFENCE ARCHITECTURE IN THE PACIFIC The first two involve what are known as the “Compact States”....
Op-eds
Australia: Neo-imperialist or climate change saviour?
Australia gets a remarkable set of rights from the Pacific island country of Tuvalu in exchange for things it can mostly find a reason to not do if it wants.
Op-eds
Israel SitRep: Nov. 7, 2023
Netanyahu Talks With ABC About Postwar Plans, Gallant Speaks to Knesset About Gaza Goals In an interview with ABC that aired on November 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated his belief that...
Israel at War Situation Report
Seven ways China can benefit from the Israel-Hamas war
Serious aggression by China in Taiwan or elsewhere won’t be as shocking to those in the West given what’s going on.
Op-eds
Stopgap measure includes extension of COFA provisions for FSM, RMI, Palau
On Oct. 1, U.S. government financial support and federal services expired in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, two of the three U.S. freely associated states. The third is...
Op-eds
War flashbacks in Guam as China projects power in the Pacific
Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, the Governor of Guam, a US territory, is not just waiting for the rest of the US to come save them. In this interview conducted in July, she describes some of the initiatives she is hoping to get off the ground so Guam is better able to defend itself.
Op-eds
From Non-Alignment to Realignment
The US and India expanded cooperation across various domains in the second reporting period of 2023. The two moved to materialize projects and initiatives that were conceived in the first quarter,...
Op-eds
Former President of Federated States of Micronesia David W. Panuelo Warns Country Could See Democratic Backsliding
New, exclusive interview with former President of Federated States of Micronesia, David W. Panuelo.
Insights
Northern Mariana: Time to close China’s backdoor into the U.S.
‘The Northern Marianas economy continues to struggle, and the government remains in deep fiscal distress. These are conditions that make the commonwealth acutely vulnerable to CCP exploitation’.
Op-eds
US Pacific Policy in China’s Shadow
Washington has indeed stepped up engagement, but missteps, half-steps, and mixed messaging are getting in the way.
Op-eds
In sign of weakness, pro-PRC Solomons PM avoids meeting US Congress members
PM Sogavare avoided meeting a US Congressional Delegation that was visiting the country. Not a single government minister met the two Members of Congress during their time in the capital, Honiara.
Op-eds
The complicated case of Nauru, which stood up to China
Some of Nauru’s decisions made on principle, for example recognizing Taiwan, likely hurt Nauru’s economy. Nauru doesn’t just recognize Taiwan, it has stood up to China in diplomatic venues in ways some Western diplomats could only dream about.
Op-eds
Politics Risk Derailing One of America’s Most Important Strategic Agreements
China is the biggest winner from the current train wreck that is the Marshall Islands–United States COFA negotiations.
Op-eds
U.S. fighting China on the wrong battlefield
While the U.S. has been focused on preparing for the kinetic warfare battlefield, China has been registering big wins on the political warfare battlefield. You can see it all over the Pacific Islands.
Op-eds
Palau under CCP pressure to switch recognition from Taiwan to China
The President of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr., speaks to The Sunday Guardian on what his Pacific Island Country is facing.