HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A bipartisan task force aimed at countering the influence of China in the Marianas, American Samoa, and the Freely Associated States was announced by members of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on National Resources this week.
The task force will handle oversight of the various areas where China is seeking to exert its strength in the broader Indo-Pacific and is co-chaired by CNMI Del. Gregorio Kilili Sablan and Rep. Amata Radewagen of American Samoa. Guam Del. Jim Moylan is also a member of the task force.
“To turn a blind eye to the Chinese government’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific, at best, is irresponsible and at worst, a national security disaster. It is time for Congress to act, which is why we are here today,” Committee on Natural Resources Chair Rep. Bruce Westerman said during a press conference hosted in Washington D.C. on Thursday.
Task force members will regularly be meeting to discuss issues facing the region, and will be drawing up a number of policy recommendations “to advance the United States interest in the region and push back on the (People’s Republic of China’s) influence throughout the Pacific,” Westerman said.
He called it a rare showing of bipartisanship.
Radewagen said the task force was “strong sign” that Congress was focused on the Indo-Pacific and that “we understand the deep concerns regarding China’s ambitions in the Pacific islands.”
She pointed to the threat of unreported and unregulated illegal distant water fishing that was subsidized by the Chinese government. “The Chinese Communist Party has decimated large swaths of the South China Sea, and is ravaging the Pacific,” Radewagen said.
Working with the Freely Associated States of Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia as the Compact of Free Association was reviewed by Congress would also be key, as the islands were the lynchpin to asserting U.S. strength in the Pacific.
Sablan echoed the need to keep a good working relation with the Freely Associated States.
“Whether or not we are in competition with China, or whether we get unfortunately looking at potentially a conflict … we need to prepare ourselves,” Sablan said.
A press release from the task force also takes special interest in the FAS, stating that, “through offerings of economic aid and infrastructure development, (China) has leveraged its resources to shape political outcomes and perceptions of the U.S. in the region while waging political warfare to gain undue influence and/or destabilize island nations.”
According to Westerman, the task force is looking to plan a visit to the Indo-Pacific to speak with local leaders, “we want a strong partnership. And we want to work with them for not only our strategic interests, but their strategic interest.”
He said the task force has a preliminary timeline of events and hearings in place, and is expected to dissolve after completing its work by the end of the year.
The Guam National Guard Readiness Center in Barrigada on Friday, June 9, 2023.
