US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink (left) listens during a meeting with Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Phnom Penh on July 12, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP)
WASHINGTON – The United States is on track to open a new embassy in Tonga this month, the top US diplomat for East Asia said on Tuesday, part of efforts to step up its diplomatic presence in the Pacific region.
Daniel Kritenbrink told a subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the United States was also continuing to engage with Vanuatu and Kiribati about opening proposed new embassies in those countries.
The United States reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands this year after a 30-year absence
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The State Department said in March it plans to open an embassy in Vanuatu. The United States has diplomatic relations with the South Pacific island nation, but these are currently handled by US diplomats based in Papua New Guinea.
The United States reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands this year after a 30-year absence.
Washington has also been working to renew agreements with the Marshall Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia under which it retains responsibility for the islands' defense and gains exclusive access to huge swaths of the Pacific.
The Biden administration is seeking $7.1 billion from Congress over the next two decades for economic assistance to the three countries.
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The United States is also planning a possible Biden stop in Papua New Guinea on May 22 as part of stepped-up engagement with the Pacific-island region, according to officials familiar with the matter.