Island Nations: Vital for U.S. Pacific Power.

The special envoy to the Pacific Islands of the Republics of the Marshall Islands and Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia, Joseph Yun, has said that these island nations are crucial to the United States remaining a Pacific power. China sees these islands as the Second Island chain in defining its historic territorial claims across the Pacific. Yun is negotiating a new 20-year compact covering infrastructure and development to include protecting fisheries, education, health services, and immigration with the three island nations. The nations look to the United States for their security and oversee their relations with other nations, including China.