US to Strengthen Ties with Pacific States Through Strategic Pacts.
The United States will sign new strategic pacts with Palau and Micronesia next week and hopes to do so with the Marshall Islands in the coming weeks. The agreements are part of US efforts to counter China's influence in the Pacific. The US first reached Compact of Free Association (COFA) accords with the three island states in the 1980s, under which it retains responsibility for their defense and provides economic assistance while gaining exclusive access to huge strategic swathes of the Pacific in return. Renewing them has become a key part of US efforts to push back against China's bid to expand its influence in the Pacific.