[House Hearing, 111 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
USHERING IN CHANGE: A NEW ERA FOR U.S. REGIONAL POLICY IN THE PACIFIC
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA, THE PACIFIC AND
THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JULY 29, 2009
__________
Serial No. 111-44
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/
______
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COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOWARD L. BERMAN, California, Chairman
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
Samoa DAN BURTON, Indiana
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey ELTON GALLEGLY, California
BRAD SHERMAN, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California
ROBERT WEXLER, Florida DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
BILL DELAHUNT, Massachusetts RON PAUL, Texas
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
DIANE E. WATSON, California MIKE PENCE, Indiana
RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri JOE WILSON, South Carolina
ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas
GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina
MICHAEL E. McMAHON, New York CONNIE MACK, Florida
JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska
GENE GREEN, Texas MICHAEL T. McCAUL, Texas
LYNN WOOLSEY, California TED POE, Texas
SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas BOB INGLIS, South Carolina
BARBARA LEE, California GUS BILIRAKIS, Florida
SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada
JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York
MIKE ROSS, Arkansas
BRAD MILLER, North Carolina
DAVID SCOTT, Georgia
JIM COSTA, California
KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota
GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona
RON KLEIN, Florida
Richard J. Kessler, Staff Director
Yleem Poblete, Republican Staff Director
------
Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa, Chairman
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
DIANE E. WATSON, California BOB INGLIS, South Carolina
MIKE ROSS, Arkansas DANA ROHRABACHER, California
BRAD SHERMAN, California EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York
Lisa Williams, Subcommittee Staff Director
Daniel Bob, Subcommittee Professional Staff Member
Nien Su, Republican Professional Staff Member
Vili Lei, Staff Associate
C O N T E N T S
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Page
WITNESS
Ms. Alcy Frelick, Director, Office of Australia, New Zealand and
Pacific Island Affairs, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific
Affairs, U.S. Department of State.............................. 14
LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING
The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, a Representative in Congress
from American Samoa, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Asia, the
Pacific and the Global Environment:
Prepared statement............................................. 4
Letter to the Honorable Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister, The
Republic of Fiji, dated July 17, 2009........................ 32
The Honorable Diane E. Watson, a Representative in Congress from
the State of California: Prepared statement.................... 9
Ms. Alcy Frelick:
Statement for the record by Ms. Margot B. Ellis, Acting
Assistant Administrator for Asia, U.S. Agency for
International Development.................................... 15
Prepared statement............................................. 20
APPENDIX
Hearing notice................................................... 40
Hearing minutes.................................................. 41
Her Excellency Ms. Marlene Moses, Chair of the Pacific Small
Island Developing States (SIDS) and Permanent Representative of
the Republic of Nauru to the United Nations: Written statement. 42
Ms. Alcy Frelick: Updated prepared statement submitted after the
hearing........................................................ 49
USHERING IN CHANGE: A NEW ERA FOR U.S. REGIONAL POLICY IN THE PACIFIC
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific
and the Global Environment,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:23 p.m. in
room 2172, Rayburn House Office Building, the Honorable Eni F.
H. Faleomavaega, (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Mr. Faleomavaega. The subcommittee hearing will come to
order. This is a hearing on the House Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment.
First of all, I want to offer my sincere apologies for
being a little late this afternoon. We are delighted to have a
briefing from our distinguished members of the diplomatic corps
who will be testifying at our hearing this afternoon. I first
want to say that this is a follow-up to a hearing we held last
year regarding the subcommittee's concerns over how our
country's foreign policies relate to the interests and needs of
the island nations that make up the Pacific region.
I would like at this time to proceed by reading my opening
statement, and without objection, my distinguished members and
ranking member, as well as our witnesses this afternoon, all
your statements will be made part of the record, and any other
related materials that you wish to submit will also be made
part of the record.
The topic for discussion in our hearing this afternoon is
``Ushering in Change: A New Era for the U.S. Regional Policy in
the Pacific Region.''
We need a coherent regional policy toward the Pacific. Our
over-reliance on Australia and New Zealand is proving
increasingly counterproductive to our interests, especially as
resentment toward Canberra and Wellington has grown over the
years. Moreover, given that China and Iran are actively engaged
in the region, the United States can no longer afford to
abdicate its responsibilities, nor should we, since the region
encompasses sea lanes at the heart of transpacific trade and
exclusive economic zones containing vast resources. Most
Pacific nations also have democratically-elected governments,
they cast 12 votes in the U.N. General Assembly and they are
among our strongest allies.
In my personal view, American policy toward the Pacific
region must begin with more proactive, direct and sustained
engagement of the countries in the region. We need to make
clear that the United States considers the Pacific Island
nations important enough that we will chart our own course
rather than out-source our policymaking to Australia and New
Zealand.
Toward that end, the administration should increase USAID's
presence in the region. In 1994, USAID closed its facilities in
the Pacific--citing budget constraints and shifting strategic
priorities. However, at the time, the United States was only
spending $12 million annually on the Pacific Island countries.
Given an anticipated increase in U.S. resources for the conduct
of our foreign policy, I am hopeful that funds will be
committed to re-establish a USAID presence among the Pacific
Island nations.
A relatively small amount of funds would go a long way
toward signaling American intentions to re-engage the region.
Such a commitment would also allow the implementation of
country-level and regional projects that meet U.S.
developmental goals of fostering sustainable economic growth,
strengthening democratic institutions and addressing the
challenges of climate change.
In terms of providing other resources to the region, I
believe we should increase the presence of Peace Corps
volunteers, offer more Fulbright Scholarships and increase
funding for the U.S. South Pacific Scholarship Program
currently conducted under the auspices of the East-West Center.
In addition, the administration should actively engage the
International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian
Development Bank to enhance their programs, which address the
serious needs of the Pacific region.
Beyond committing greater resources, the United States
should demonstrate its interest in the Pacific Island nations
through the direct involvement of senior-level officials on
important occasions. I would encourage an early visit to the
Pacific Island nations by the next Assistant Secretary for East
Asian and Pacific Affairs. I would also hope that in the next
Pacific Island Conference of Leaders summit (PICL), which will
include the United States, that perhaps Washington will commit
to high-level participation by, and recognition from, the Obama
administration.
The PICL is composed of heads of state and governments from
the region, and meets only once every 3 years. The last meeting
of the Pacific leaders was largely ignored by the Bush
administration. A 10-minute speech by Secretary of State Rice
was the extent of that administration's senior-level
involvement.
Moreover, the State Department should consider increasing
the number of participants in its international visitors
leadership program and other exchanges that permit leaders of
the Pacific Island nations to interact with their American
counterparts. In particular, I would urge a focus on exchanges
demonstrating the depth of the administration's commitment to
dealing with climate change.
The Pacific Island nations are among those most vulnerable
to sea level rise, coral depletion and the severe weather
patterns that are occurring as a result of climate change.
Indeed, as an example, the island state of Tuvalu, with only
nine atolls a few feet above sea level may soon disappear,
necessitating the relocation of its entire population. The same
fate awaits many other low-lying atolls, not only in the
Pacific region, but other regions of the world.
Complementing environmental efforts aimed at addressing the
problems associated with climate change, I believe that the
administration should increase support for the study of marine
biology and other marine sciences in partnership with the
Pacific Island nations. Further, the administration should take
steps to submit the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and
associated protocols for ratification.
I would also like to work with the administration to
promote trade and investment in the region. The United States
provided ample assistance to post-war Germany and Japan, and we
have invested billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq. Yet the
United States seems unable to clean up the nuclear mess that we
created in the Marshall Islands or to make a concerted effort
at working with Pacific Island and American business interests
to diversify the region's economy. Under the Obama
administration, I hope this will change.
Just as there was an initiative known as the Caribbean
Basin Initiative, I hope that the principles and the policies
outlined by that trade agreement with our Caribbean countries
should also be looked at very seriously for the Pacific Island
nations as a model.
Finally, I am hopeful that the Obama administration will
reassess the U.S. position on signing the South Pacific Nuclear
Weapons Free Zone Treaty, known as the Treaty of Rarotonga, an
issue of longstanding importance to the leaders and people of
the region.
Now I would like to recognize the ranking member of our
subcommittee, my good friend, the gentleman from Illinois, Mr.
Manzullo, for his opening statement.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Faleomavaega
follows:]Faleomavaega statement deg.
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Mr. Manzullo. Thank you, Chairman. I appreciate your
calling this hearing regarding America's policy toward the
Pacific Island nations. This is a part of the world that the
United States has overlooked more often than not, much to our
own detriment, especially since the People's Republic of China
is actively investing lots of resources into cultivating strong
relations there.
Aside from grants provided under the Compacts of Free
Association and the Millennium Challenge Account funding for
Vanuatu, America's direct assistance to the Pacific is low.
U.S. policy in this part of the world must refocus to the
challenges of the twenty-first century and not be a relic of
the past.
I continue to be concerned about the situation in Fiji,
particularly after the regime abrogated the nation's
Constitution in April of this year. This action, taken in
response to a ruling against the military regime's ouster of a
democratically-elected government by the nation's Court of
Appeals is extremely worrisome, and it illustrates the dire
consequences of a military rule.
Not surprisingly, the regime arrested a group of Methodist
Church leaders, and one of Fiji's most prominent chiefs only 2
weeks ago for planning to hold a church annual conference.
Thus, I urge the administration to do more to pressure the
regime to hold free and fair elections as soon as possible.
Maintaining a strong relationship with Australia must
remain a key priority for the United States. Australia is one
of America's closest friends and knows the Pacific region
obviously better than we do. A strong partnership with
Australia is vital to our national security. I supported the
Free Trade Agreement with Australia in the 108th Congress, and
I am happy that this partnership has turned out to be a
significant benefit for both countries.
United States exports to Australia have soared since the
agreement came into force, rising from $15.5 billion in 2005 to
$22.2 billion in 2008. Exports from Illinois to Australia have
also risen, going from $36.1 million to $53.7 million. In fact,
the number one exported good from Illinois to Australia is a
large off-highway dump truck. Amazingly we have a trade surplus
with Australia.
My question for our distinguished witness is simple. With
regard to China's increased presence in the Pacific, how has
Australia's relationship with China changed, particularly in
light of recent trade tensions? Have the collapse of global
commodity prices, and the arrest of Rio Tinto mining employees
by China ruin the honeymoon between Beijing and Canberra?
New Zealand is another bright spot for America's relations
in the Pacific, particularly in the past few years. I
understand the New Zealand Government has expressed a strong
interest in negotiating some form of trade agreement between
our two countries. If this is correct, I would like to hear the
administration's position regarding the proposal. I am also
curious as to the status of the Transpacific Strategic Economic
Partnership Agreement.
On an issue related to trade, it is my understanding that
Air New Zealand, which is owned by the Government of New
Zealand, recently issued a request for a proposal to replace
its narrow-body aircraft fleet. Given the importance of the
manufacturing sector to create and sustain good paying American
jobs, I trust the State and Commerce Departments are doing all
they can to abdicate on behalf of American industry.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this hearing, and I
look forward to your testimony.
Mr. Faleomavaega. I thank the gentleman for his opening
statement, and now I would like to turn the time over to the
distinguished member of our subcommittee, the former Ambassador
to the Federated State of Micronesia, the gentlelady from
California, Dr. Watson, for her opening statement.
Ms. Watson. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and I think it
is so important that you are holding this hearing on a new era
for U.S. regional policy in the Pacific, and I know the last
time we went on a CODEL we were with you and I think we need to
take more down into this area of the Pacific so more of the
decision makers and the lawmakers can understand the need in a
changing era in this particular area of the world.
The United States for many years enjoyed a lasting and
significant partnership with the people and government of the
Pacific. As a former Ambassador to Micronesia, I recognize the
importance of this friendship, but I am also aware of the many
outstanding issues in the region, including the quadulan lease
extension, the situation in Fiji, and I was there, Mr.
Chairman. You might remember me telling you, and I could feel
in the atmosphere that something was going on because the
locals were complaining about the takeover of government by
people from other countries, and as soon as I got back to
Micronesia there was a coup, and we have been trying to assist
that ever since then, that there will be a democratic process
in electing a new. But it was very telling hearing from the
native people themselves.
We also know that there is an increasing poverty rate and
it is the effects of global economic downturn and the negative
climate change that will continue to hinder its fragile
ecosystems which in turn affect both the global community and
the local populations, and it is my hope that under our
President Obama we will commit to strengthen our relationship
and renew U.S. development and aid commitments to our friends
in the Pacific.
Mr. Chairman, I raised an issue yesterday as we were
talking about health care, and you might have heard the
representative from Hawaii say that, you know, we need to be
sure that Medicare is reimbursed, the services be reimbursed.
Well, I do know in Micronesia we didn't have the health care
infrastructure down in our islands, so our people would go up
to Guam and Hawaii, and there was a broad debt that was placed
on these two areas because we were not paying as we were going.
So I do hope, Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, that we as a
policymaking body would look at our territories and be sure
that they are funded to the extent they can pay their own way
for the new health care system that we hopefully set up.
Please excuse me as I go to an emergency meeting just
called, and I will look forward to hearing from witnesses. My
staff is here, and they will inform me, and I am sure they will
bring us most important information that we need to hear. Thank
you so much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Faleomavaega. I thank the gentlelady for her statement.
Without objection, her statement will be made part of the
record as well as other members who wish to make statements
part of the record.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Watson
follows:] deg.
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Mr. Faleomavaega. I do want to thank the gentleman from
Illinois for his comments concerning the situation in Fiji. For
the record, I would like to share with my colleagues that I
returned from Fiji about 1\1/2\ weeks ago, after consultations
with the interim prime minister of Fiji. I want to share a
little sense of experience and history with my colleagues to
the effect that Fiji has had a colonial history in the past,
and many of us here in America have no idea of the concept of
what happened in this important island group in the Pacific.
When you have had to grapple with some very serious ethnic
issues among the local inhabitants, when you have had four
military coups and one civilian coup and three Constitutions,
and have had to deal with all of this in a 20-year period, I
will submit to the gentlelady and my colleague from Illinois
that the situation in Fiji is not that simple. I have been very
vocal and very critical of the conduct and actions taken by the
leaders of Australia and New Zealand, and I say this for the
record, their heavy handedness and being so critical, and not
really having a sense of appreciation of what the leaders of
the people of Fiji have had to work with in terms of the
current situation that they are now confronted with.
So I just want to note for the record, as I did not have a
chance to share with my colleagues, we had Ambassador Rice,
U.S. representative----
Ms. Watson. Mr. Chairman, will you yield for a moment?
Mr. Faleomavaega. I would be glad to yield to the
gentlelady.
Ms. Watson. When I mentioned Fiji, I got on a bus with
people who were visiting from Europe. No one knew who I was,
and no one else spoke English. So I sat up in the front and I
was right next to one of the Fijians, and I said, are you sure
you are not from Crenshaw Boulevard in my district? That is the
main thoroughfare, and he looked like most of the people in
that neighborhood, and spoke English. And I finally figured out
why he was constantly pointing out and showing the names of the
businesses. When we got into the downtown area of the main city
there was not a Fijian name up on those signs, professionals
and all.
And what he was really crying out for, and since these had
been colonial territories in the past, that it was now time
that the native population be full participants.
We have gone through that in this country too, and I had a
chance to get back to my post and consider my experiences, and
then read about the coup, and hearing your remarks just
reminded me that when we go into these countries and we
completely isolate, push back the native people, there is a
time that they say we are not going to take it anymore. And so
we don't really train them and educate them to become leaders
in a democratic sense.
You know, we go in there and we reap and we are gone, and
so I think there is a big opening under this new administration
to go back in, reevaluate our support, and rather than going
into the Middle East and training people there we ought to
remember people in the Pacific, in the various nations of
Africa, and the areas that have really pretty much been
neglected by the western world.
So I wanted to say that in relationship to what you are
saying, and thank you so much. I think it is important that we
have a series of dialogues.
Mr. Faleomavaega. I thank the gentlelady for her comments.
In fact, when Secretary Clinton appeared before the full
committee, I raised the subject of Fiji, and I am very grateful
that Secretary Clinton has given her personal attention and
willingness and commitment to work with our subcommittee
members and to see what we can do to give assistance to the
current crisis in Fiji.
I might also note to the gentlelady that I wanted to
address the issue of Fiji with Secretary Rice, our U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations, and the latest development
from what I hear that Fiji is still a full-fledged member of
the United Nations, and I am informed that New Zealand and
Australia now are trying every way possible to cut off any more
opportunities for the military forces of Fiji that currently
participate in peacekeeping operations since 1978. And I will
also note for the record that the assistance the military
forces of Fiji have given to the United Nations and to our
world community is second to none in terms of how much our
country has appreciated what the Fijian military has done to be
part of our peacekeeping operations in the United Nations.
But what really is disturbing to me is why Australia and
New Zealand are singling out Fiji and to disallow Fijian
soldiers to continue their efforts to participate in the
peacekeeping operation.
Ms. Watson. Would you yield for----
Mr. Faleomavaega. I will be glad to yield to the
gentlelady.
Ms. Watson. As a result of this hearing, and maybe
subsequent hearings, could we from this subcommittee send a
letter to the Secretary of State and in that letter stating the
position you just now did, and so we can bring some attention
to the fact that two of our partners down in that area of the
world would like to decrease the number of forces coming from
Fiji or eliminate them altogether, and at a time when we need
friends throughout the world to partner with us as we go into
territories and we are involved in conflicts, and also we're
involved in a tremendous crisis, that she ought to take a look?
And as you know, former President Clinton is an envoy to
Haiti, and so she might want to send down an envoy to this area
to look at the Fiji situation and other areas around.
Mr. Faleomavaega. I would say to my good friend I will
personally draft a letter and we will have the members of our
subcommittee sign on. We are going to send it to President
Obama as well as to Secretary Clinton, and I think that we
should have this kind of communication with the leaders of
Fiji.
Yes, they are having problems, but I don't think it is fair
that we should hammer them and continue to be so cynical and
critical of the difficult situation that the leaders of Fiji
are trying to resolve, not only among themselves but especially
among their people.
So I gladly thank my good friend. I definitely will be
working on that in the coming weeks, and I thank the
gentlelady.
By the way, Dr. Watson, Fiji has produced some of the best
rugby players in the world. This is a little ongoing contest
between the Samoans, the Maoris, the Fijians, and the Tongans
as to who are the best rugby players in the world. You will
find them in the Pacific.
Ms. Watson. I can tell you one thing, that every small
village on the Island of Fiji that has sand on top of the
earth, you know, a little level of sand, they have the
Continent of Africa, the Island of Fiji, and they use the
shells to show the trek across the ocean to Fiji.
Mr. Faleomavaega. Thank you, Dr. Watson. I deeply
appreciate your comments, and I want to offer my apologies
again to our distinguished guests here before the subcommittee.
I know that there was an agreement that the distinguished
Ambassador from the Republic of Nauru would be the spokesman on
behalf of our Pacific Ambassadors, and I would like to
personally welcome her, Marlene Moses. I have also invited our
other distinguished Ambassadors from the Marshall Islands, from
the Federated States of Micronesia, and from the Republic of
Fiji to join us.
Ambassador Moses started her career as a Foreign Service
Officer. Since 1983, she has served as consul general in New
Zealand, Japan and Australia; she became permanent secretary of
internal affairs for the Republic of Nauru; and she served as
Ambassador not only to the United Nations, but also to the
United States, the Republic of Cuba and also Venezuela. That is
quite a hefty responsibility there, Marlene.
She received her collegiate education from Canberra College
and advanced education at Monash University in Melbourne,
Australia.
Madam Ambassador, I will have you take the lead on your
opening statement, and without objection I am also going to
invite your colleagues and your distinguished Ambassadors if
they have any written materials or statements that they would
like to submit to be made part of the record. It will be done,
and then maybe we can just dialogue based on your statement,
Madam Ambassador, and we will then proceed from there.
[Discussion off the record.]
[The prepared statement of H.E. Marlene Moses
follows:]Note: Moved to appendix deg.
Mr. Faleomavaega. Our next witness this afternoon is Ms.
Alcy Frelick. She is a career service officer, and is currently
serving as Director of the Office of Australia, New Zealand and
Pacific Island Affairs within the Bureau of East Asian and
Pacific Affairs in the U.S. Department of State.
Ms. Frelick has served in various posts, not only in the
Western Hemisphere, including Mexico, the Caribbean and Canada,
she also had overseas assignments in East Asia, and as consul
general in Madrid, Spain. Also, Ms. Frelick was the principal
officer in our Embassy in Aukland, New Zealand, as well as
having portfolios covering the Cook Islands, Samoa and other
small island nations.
She also served as the chief visa immigration officer in
Seoul, Korea, and in consulates in Kathmandu, Nepal, and as
vice consul in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
She was a director of the UCLS project in Beijing, China,
and managed an education project for Save the Children in
Vietnamese refugee camps and in Indonesia, and also served in
the Peace Corps in Kabul, Afghanistan, years ago.
She is originally from the State of Delaware, and is
currently residing in Northern Virginia.
I do want to apologize sincerely for the delay in our
hearing this afternoon, Ms. Frelick, but I do want to welcome
you and thank you for taking the time to come and testify
before the subcommittee.
I will now give you time for your statement.
STATEMENT OF MS. ALCY FRELICK, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF AUSTRALIA,
NEW ZEALAND AND PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS, BUREAU OF EAST ASIAN
AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Ms. Frelick. Thank you very much, Chairman Faleomavaega,
distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for
inviting me to appear today to testify regarding ushering in
change, a new era for U.S. regional policy in the Pacific. I
welcome the opportunity to address our policy toward this
important region.
The United States values its longstanding and close
relationships with the countries and peoples of the Pacific.
Indeed, we are ourselves a Pacific nation with a lengthy
Pacific coast, the State of Hawaii, and stretching to the
Northern Marianas and American Samoa. Nothing could better
underscore this fact than the election of Hawaiian-born Barack
Obama, as the 44th President of the United States.
The United States engages with the Pacific Island countries
both bilaterally and multilaterally to address issues of
concern to the United States, the region and the world. Our
multifaceted engagement with the Pacific covers the gamut from
addressing climate change to maintaining a robust missile
defense infrastructure. Most importantly, we seek to work with
the governments and the people of the Pacific to foster stable,
democratic, and prosperous countries.
I have submitted written testimony which addresses some of
the specific questions that were raised in your invitation to
testify today.
Mr. Faleomavaega. Without objection your statement will be
made part of the record.
Ms. Frelick. Thank you very much.
Mr. Faleomavaega. And any other submissions that you wish
to make will be made part of the record.
Ms. Frelick. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
The first issue I would like to address this afternoon is
U.S. foreign assistance to the Pacific, including the Compacts
of Free Association. I would like to note also, Mr. Chairman,
that USAID has provided written testimony for the record and
which should provide more information specific to the account
of USAID involvement in the Pacific region.
Mr. Faleomavaega. Without objection it will be made part of
the record.
[The information referred to follows:]USAID
statement FTR deg.
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Ms. Frelick. Certainly major components of our regional
assistance programs are linked to the Compacts of Free
Association with the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic
of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Under the
terms of the contacts, all three countries receive U.S. support
in the form of direct assistance and through access to Federal
programs, grants and services. Administered primarily by the
Department of Interior, this totals over $200 million annually.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation has a 5-year, $66
million compact with Vanuatu, which focuses on transportation
infrastructure. USAID's regional development mission for Asia,
which is based in Bangkok, manages several programs in the
Pacific, like the $2.5 million program for dealing with the
scourge of HIV/AIDS and in tropic forest conservation program
in Papua New Guinea. Both Papua New Guinea and the Solomon
Islands are included in the Coral Triangle Initiative.
USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, or OFDA, has
provided disaster assistance to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the
Solomon Islands in the past year. Last November OFDA assigned a
representative to our Embassy in Majuro with responsibility for
immediate disaster response for Micronesia and the Marshalls.
The U.S. Navy's specific partnership program has been
providing medical, dental, veterinary and engineering
assistance in the Asia Pacific region for several years now. In
2008, the Pacific partnership provided medical treatment to
over 20,000 people in Papua New Guinea and 17,000 people in
Micronesia. They are currently in the midst of a 3-month
mission to Samoa, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and
the Marshall Islands. The Navy and the Pacific fleet are
committing more than $20 million this year to this mission.
In addition to these bilateral programs the United States
is a member and supporter of some of the region's most
important multilateral programs. Through the Secretariat of the
Pacific Community, we contributed assistance to 22 Pacific
Island countries and territories. Agencies like NOAA provides
support through the South deg.Pacific Regional
Environmental Programme (SPREP), which you mentioned earlier,
and 14 Pacific Island countries receive a combined $18 million
annually through the South Pacific Tuna Treaty.
We will be participating in the Pacific Island forum/post-
forum dialogue meetings next week in Cairns, Australia. This
year a major theme for the dialogue partners is donor
coordination. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will
lead a robust interagency delegation to meet and consult with
Pacific leaders. The strong U.S. presence in Cairns is an
indication of the Obama administration's commitment to the
region.
Before I leave the topic, I would like to note that our
coordination with Pacific Island countries on global issues is
a dynamic and interactive one. Citizens of the freely
associated states serve honorably in the U.S. military
services. Tongan soldiers fought alongside U.S. troops in Iraq,
and Tonga is moving forward in a peaceful transition on its
path toward a constitutional democracy. In June, the U.N.
General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution sponsored by
Nauru and other Pacific small island developing states entitled
``Climate Change and Its Possible Security Implications.'' This
resolution underscored the dire nature of the threats that
climate change posed to their nations and was supported by the
United States as Ambassador Moses mentioned.
Tuvalu has just announced its commitment to become energy
independent by 2020. Micronesia was selected for an award in
April 2009 that recognized that they were accelerating the
phase-out of hydrocarbon, fluorocarbons beyond the requirements
of the Montreal Protocol, and I would like especially to
express our appreciation to President Toribiong and the people
and Government of Palau for their humanitarian offer to
resettle detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
Ambassador Susan Rice recognized the terrific cooperation
we enjoy with Pacific Island countries in the United Nations by
hosting the Pacific Island Permanent Representatives for her
first representational event at the United Nations earlier this
year.
Pacific Island countries are stalwart friends and we share
a similar world view and values. The United States is firmly
committed to the advancement of human rights and democracy
worldwide. In this regard, we want to thank you, particularly
Chairman Faleomavaega, for your leadership of the U.S.
delegation during election observations in Micronesia this past
March. We support cultural and academic exchanges, recognize
women of courage, and provide annual reports on human rights
and trafficking in persons to Congress.
Certainly, as mentioned earlier, the most troubling
political issue in the Pacific today is the situation in Fiji.
The military cop of December 2006 and subsequent events around
Easter of this year when the interim government abrogated the
Constitution have been troubling. Fiji's coup leaders recently
released a roadmap to democracy that did not take credible
steps to restore democratic rule, other than to promise to
begin working 3 years from now on a new Constitution leading to
elections in 2014.
Public emergency regulations remain in place. The press
remains heavily censored and the right of assembly is severely
restricted. Just 2 weeks ago the leaders of the Methodist
Church and one of Fiji's three paramount traditional chiefs
were arrested for planning to hold the church's annual
conference despite government ban.
The United States responded to the Fiji coup by imposing
sanctions in accordance with Section 508 of the Foreign
Operations Appropriations Act. Our sanctions are targeted
against the military regime while we continue to assist the
people of Fiji through programs geared toward strengthening
civil society, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief.
Meanwhile, we also maintain full diplomatic relations with
Fiji.
We are closely following the statements of Pacific Island
leaders and the actions of the Pacific Island Forum which
suspended Fiji in May. We believe that the return of democracy
to Fiji will necessitate the early and sustained restoration of
such basic human rights as freedom of speech and assembly.
I would like to conclude my remarks today by looking at the
activities of other important players in the region. First and
foremost is our alliance with Australia, a country with which
we share interests, values, and commitments not only in the
Pacific but throughout the world. The United States recognizes
the very real leadership role Australia plays as the largest
country in the South Pacific region.
New Zealand is our other close regional partner. We
collaborate intensively with New Zealand on a broad range of
issues from democracy promotion to renewable energy. We have
also been working with Japan, which is playing an increasingly
welcome role in the Pacific; the European Union, and individual
European countries that are also engaged in projects in the
Pacific, and we welcome opportunities to expand our
coordination with them.
I am pleased to note that since the election of President
Ma in Taiwan, China and Taiwan appear to have curtailed their
competition for diplomatic recognition. That what we call
checkbook diplomacy undermined good governance and distorted
political processes. We encourage both parties to follow
international norms of transparency when providing foreign
assistance in the region.
In conclusion, let me reaffirm that the Pacific Region is
important to the United States. We seek to identify new and
better opportunities to increase our engagement with the
governments and peoples of the Pacific. We benefit from and
appreciate the active interest and support from Congress, and
look forward to working together to craft effective policies
and programs to meet the mutual needs of the United States and
the countries of the Pacific.
Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify today. I
would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Frelick
follows:]Alcy Frelick deg.
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Mr. Faleomavaega. Thank you for your very thoughtful and
concise statement concerning the situation in the Pacific
region.
You had indicated earlier in your testimony that the 44th
President of the United States was born in the State of Hawaii.
I don't know if you are aware of this, but at the height of the
Presidential elections last year there was a national blog or
blogger, I am not very good at computers, going around saying
that I was appointed as a special agent of Barack Obama for
which I went to Indonesia, went to Jakarta, attended even the
school that he went to when he was a young man, and that my
mission as a special agent of Barack Obama was to destroy any
records giving any reference to the idea that he was born in
Indonesia and not in Hawaii.
What surprises me is that this nonsense is still going on
in the blogging community. But it seems lately even in the most
current news stories and television that there seems to be
rejection among some of our leaders here in Washington about
this rumor that is going on that Barack Obama is not a U.S.
citizen.
I would like to state for the record quite clearly that my
colleague from the State of Hawaii, Neil Abercrombie, not only
knew Barack Obama's parents when they were teaching at the
University of Hawaii, but specifically said that Barack Obama
was born in Kapi'olani Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. I just
want to make sure that that record is straight, once and for
all.
I was curious, Ms. Frelick, you mentioned the foreign
assistance that we have given to the island nations, I guess
more specifically, Micronesia, to the tune of about $200
million. And I am a little puzzled if we consider this foreign
assistance, or is it part of our treaty obligations that we
have toward the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federal States
of Micronesia?
Maybe I am dealing with semantics here, but I was just
curious. How do we label this program as part of treaty
obligations that we have had in exchange for establishing this
very unique political relationship with these three sovereign
nations in the Pacific in exchange for their friendship. And I
suppose, to the extent that if we have ever a need to show our
national strategic and security interests in this region of the
Pacific, that that is the reason why we are paying them $200
million or whatever it is. I suppose, as advocated by the
Department of Defense, and why we consider these islands as
very strategic and very important to our own national interest.
Would you care to comment on that?
Ms. Frelick. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that question. I
have to confess that I am not a lawyer so the semantical
differences between treaty obligations, foreign assistance, and
how exactly all that fits with the compact would be something
that I would need to refer back and have legal advice before I
ventured into that particular quagmire.
But I would like to address it because I think that when we
are looking at our relationships with the Republic of Palau,
the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the
Marshall Islands is those are certainly unique relationships.
Perhaps the pivotal moment of the relationships was when they
became U.N. Trust Territories under U.S. authority after World
War II, and then as the compacts were concluded and we moved
forward under the compact relationships, it a unique
relationship.
The domestic agency, the Department of Interior has the
primary responsibility for implementing the Compacts of Free
Association, and yet they are independent countries. So I would
have to say that I think at least on an operational basis it is
somewhere--it sort of bridges both of those areas as both
foreign assistance and comes in as treaty obligations for us.
I think it is a relationship that we both benefit from, and
that the richness and the strength of our relationships is not
totally something that can be put down to dollars and cents,
however.
Mr. Faleomavaega. I might also add, Ms. Frelick, and I do
want to say this for the record in fairness to our allies
Australia and New Zealand, that I do want to commend them for
all the efforts they have made in providing assistance to these
island nations because, in my opinion, we are not doing enough
as far as the United States alone. So I do want to commend
Australia and New Zealand for their efforts in helping our
island nations simply because we are totally absent. We are not
even there. We don't even show presence. If we do, certainly it
is not what I would expect would be something that would show
our sense of credibility in our presence, or lack of presence
there in the Pacific.
I want to note also for the record that the U.S. Navy,
recently, in the Pacific partnership program that you stated
earlier, that some 460 doctors that went on this hospital ship,
and went and visited all of these island countries, and
provided assistance to thousands of Pacific Islanders in the
various communities. And I want to commend the Navy. I think
that is $120 million funding and usage that is most worthwhile
and certainly makes me proud to see that that is money in good
use to help our fellow human beings in this part of the world.
On the question of Palau, you know there is a lot of hype
in the media right now, and I must say that I was very moved by
the statements made by the President of Palau as to the reasons
why he felt that his government had to step up to the plate in
wanting to take in these 13 prisoners who were taken, for some
odd reason, to Guantanamo. His doing so was not to kiss up to
the United States, but it was as part of a Pacific culture
again. If people are in need, you help. Where are these 13
Uighurs going to be living was the question? We refused refuge
for these 13 Uighurs who had been determined as non-terrorists.
I am a little disappointed personally why we cannot in our
capacity take in 13 human beings among the 300 million living
here in the United States. But I want to commend Palau, a
small, little island nation that feels very strongly that it is
part of the culture and say, ``We don't want to leave these
people out in the street stranded.'' They should be sheltered,
and I do commend the President of Palau for the initiative that
he has taken.
Now, unfortunately, the Government of China has a very
different attitude and different reasons for thinking that
these people are terrorists. And the likelihood is that if
these people ever were to return to China they will either end
up dead or in prison. So we are caught in the middle in
somewhat of a predicament in terms of how we--I think the term
was ``rendition''--gathered up all these suspected terrorists
from all over the world, and brought them to Guantanamo, and
now to realize that we have made some God-awful mistakes in
bringing some of these people who are totally innocent. And now
we are trying to solve the problem, unfortunately, to the
extent that we have to find other countries willing to take
these members of the Uighur people who live in the most extreme
western region of China which borders Kazakhstan and other
countries right there in Central Asia.
So I do want to ask, where are we in terms of the status of
the 13 Uighurs? Are they going to Palau? Are there problems
that we are having with that transition?
I believe there is an amendment pending in the
appropriations bill that was introduced by my colleague
Congressman Murtha to prohibit the transfer of any of the
Uighurs to any U.S. territory or State. I don't know how far
this is going to go, but I just wanted to let you know that
this is coming down the pipeline and I was curious about the
State Department's position on this.
Ms. Frelick. Well, I think actually, Mr. Chairman, you
spoke very eloquently of the Pacific way earlier in your
statement when you spoke about a brother reaching out a hand to
another brother, and I think that your commendation of Palau is
something that I could not have said better myself; that
certainly the President and the people of Palau have really
reached out their hands to these individuals.
I know that Special Envoy Fried has been working very
closely with the Government of Palau to make the arrangements
for the transfer of the Uighurs and working with Uighur
counsel. There are details to be worked out, as you can
imagine, and those are in the process of being worked out now.
The Government of Palau said that they do not want to have
any Uighurs come who don't willingly come, and so we need to
make sure that the Uighurs who are resettled in Palau
understand where Palau is and are----
Mr. Faleomavaega. Teach them how to swim, too.
Ms. Frelick. Well, that is right. Part of the resettlement
program.
Mr. Faleomavaega. We had discussed earlier, as you know,
with my colleague from Illinois, the situation of Fiji. As I
had mentioned, I will, without objection, submit for the record
a copy of the letter that I submitted personally to interim
Prime Minister Bainimarama. That was about 1\1/2\ weeks ago,
and I submitted the copy of the same letter to our Ambassador
to Fiji.
[The information referred to follows:]Letter
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Mr. Faleomavaega. Contained in that letter were some
suggestions I offered on the roadmap, the proposal that Prime
Minister Bainimarama gave to the people of Fiji, and to the
region for that matter. Of course, there is always
disagreement, and perhaps somewhere along the line we may find
a sense of mutual agreement on some of the issues raised.
As you had mentioned earlier, 2014 is the target date for
holding elections. The Constitution was abrogated. As I said
earlier, Fiji has had to live with three Constitutions in a
matter of 20 years; four military takeovers and one civilian
takeover all within 20 years.
So this is where I offered my sense of concern that
sometimes our friends and allies in the Pacific seem to be
making demands that there should be immediate elections and
thinking that this is going to solve Fiji's problem, yet only
to expect that maybe down the road we will have another
military coup. And I think more than anything in my personal
consultations with Prime Minister Bainimarama, that is where he
is any way, at all cost to prevent another military coup from
taking place in Fiji.
So, I really think that this is something that I hope
Assistant Secretary Campbell will give his attention. I
definitely will bring this issue to his attention sometime
tomorrow when I meet with him, and I sincerely hope that we
will not lose interest in doing all we can in assisting the
leaders of Fiji and their people.
You had indicated earlier also about the alliance.
Absolutely I cannot think the situation in our close alliance
with Australia. When New Zealand announced a nuclear free zone
policy where they will deny any U.S. ships or aircraft from
coming to New Zealand since we have the policy, the standing
policy they cannot deny or admit the presence of nuclear
weapons in our aircraft and in our ships, I think this policy
by New Zealand still stands. And this has also bothered a lot
of Members of Congress to this day, even though this took place
years and years ago. In a sense, it is like saying we are doing
all the dirty work in the Pacific not only in our own national
defense, but also the defense of our allies. And it was kind of
a very dark page in our history during President Reagan's
administration whereby we immediately cut off any further
intelligence or military information with the Government of New
Zealand because of that.
Now, I do not know where the administration stands on this.
Are we still going to continue looking at New Zealand with that
one little problem, because we are denied our ships and
aircraft to moor into their harbors and their airports due to
never admitting the presence of nuclear weapons? I think that
is still a serious problem among my colleagues here in the
Congress as far as that policy is concerned.
On China and checkbook diplomacy, I just want to say for
the record that there was concern expressed by one of our State
Department officials about 2 years ago about checkbook
diplomacy currently conducted or has been conducted by China
and Taiwan over the favors of these island countries. I had to
interrupt the gentleman by saying, ``Wait a minute, we just
gave $8 billion to Iraq in cash that we are having a hard time
accounting for.''
So I did suggest to the gentleman while it may be checkbook
diplomacy that China and Taiwan are doing, but we are
conducting cash diplomacy that we have a hard time finding out
what happened to the money that we gave during the Iraq War.
So I think we have to be a little careful when we start
putting labels and saying that we are making checkbook
diplomacy by these other countries, and yet our own Government
is doing something even more glaring in a way that I say, well,
is there a difference? I think there is a difference.
Our close association and alliance with Japan, it is true.
I am very, very happy that my good friend, President Ma, has
established a much better working relationship with the
People's Republic of China. He conducted his campaign on that
platform, and for which the voters of Taiwan turned out
overwhelmingly saying yes, establish peaceful, cordial
relations with the People's Republic of China. And I think this
is part of our own fundamental foreign policy. Whatever is
between China and Taiwan, it should be resolved in a peaceful
manner and not go through another experience of having to send
two carrier battle groups to the Taiwan Straits as happened
during the Clinton administration. I don't think my colleagues
here would ever want to go through that experience again where
we came close to a nuclear war with China over something we
ought to be able to prevent.
I am sorry. I did not mean to rattle on. I just wanted to
share with you some of these issues that come before the
subcommittee affecting our region.
I do appreciate very much your comments and your statement
and your commitment that we can always do a better job, if I
can put it in those terms, as I am sure that our friends and
our supporters in the Pacific region want very much to continue
our close working relationship with them now and in the future.
So I will give you one more opportunity if you would like to
have another chance to take a shot at that.
Ms. Frelick. I just want to thank you very much for holding
this hearing today. I have been working with Ambassador Moses
and some of the other permanent representatives in New York who
are also bilateral Ambassadors to the United States. It has
been a real pleasure to work with them. I look forward to going
to the Pacific Island Forum, post-forum dialogue meetings next
week in Cairns, and I think the more we can work together with
not only the regional partners but the other donor countries in
the region who have an interest in the Pacific the better we
can do to try to address some of the very real issues that we
have to deal with in the Pacific. These are wonderful
countries, rich cultures, enormous resources, and we do care,
and we want to do everything we can to have the U.S. presence
felt and to have that be a positive presence.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Faleomavaega. Ms. Frelick, I look forward to working
with you and Secretary Campbell and members of the bureau. I
think we are going to have an exciting time not only with the
Pacific, but also with the countries of the Asian continent.
Again, I really want to thank you for taking the time to come
and be with us this afternoon.
The hearing is hereby closed.
[Whereupon, at 3:37 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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