The agreements with smaller countries are designed to expand American influence in the region, solidify existing relationships, and give the U.S. military more footholds.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits the Philippine Department of National Defense in Manila, Feb. 2, 2023. Austin announced an agreement to expand American military presence in the Philippines, calling the deal"especially important as the People’s Republic of China continues to advance its illegitimate claims in the West Philippine Sea."
In a news conference, Austin cited China’s aggression in claiming control over parts of the West Philippine Sea.Getting less attention, though, has been a flurry of other deal-making with tiny nations scattered across the Pacific. “We are definitely in the business of trying to maintain the edge that we have influence-wise in the Pacific Islands vis-a-vis China,” said Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst with Rand Corporation.
“Some people in think tanks already are exhibiting with exhibitions of whose first gonna get destroyed and then who’s the second wave," he said."We need to strengthen it before we get there."A State Department spokesperson said the United States now sends Palau, the Marshall Islands, and Micronesia together more than $300 million a year under unique deals with them, which are called Compacts of Free Association .
“In return, what we get as the United States is its near exclusive military access to the freely associated states,” said Grossman."That means we can set up basing on their territories, we can fly over their territories …. There are very few limitations.” “They've come out kind of off to the side saying, ‘We get it…We know that this is about competition against China, but we also need to make sure that our own national interests are preserved,’” Grossman said.
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