US vows more high-level engagement with Pacific islands amid China push
(VOVWORLD) - White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Thursday he expects more high-level US officials to visit Pacific island countries as Washington steps up its engagement to counter China in the strategically important region.
 Kurt Campbell attends a China Development Forum in Beijing, China March 23, 2019. (Photo: REUTERS) |
Campbell said the United States needed more diplomatic facilities across the region, and more contact with Pacific island countries that at times "receive lesser attention."
"You will see more cabinet-level, more senior officials, going to the Pacific ... recognizing that nothing replaces, really, diplomatic boots on the ground," he told Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Biden administration has vowed to commit more resources to the Indo-Pacific as China seeks to boost economic, military and police links with Pacific island nations hungry for foreign investment.