Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman says U. S. ''doubling down'' on Pacific

“The future will be written here in the Pacific,” Wendy Sherman said at an agreement-signing event in New Zealand's capital, Wellington.

The U. S. is doubling down on its investment in the Pacific, said U. S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on August 9 as she concluded a five-nation visit to the region. “The future will be written here in the Pacific,” Ms. Sherman said at an agreement-signing event in New Zealand's capital, Wellington.

Critics have accused the U. S. of neglecting the region and allowing China's influence to flourish. Ms. Sherman said the U. S. has always been a Pacific nation. She said it has been a priority for President Joe Biden to rebuild alliances and relationships around the world and officials were using “every vehicle possible” to collaborate with Pacific partners.

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“And so we are doubling down on our investment here in the Pacific,” Ms. Sherman said. “Our relationships, our partnerships, regional organisations.” Asked if she felt the U. S. or China was winning the battle for influence in the region, Ms. Sherman said she didn't see it quite that way.

“It's not so much a battle,” she said. “I think that countries try to have relations with every country they believe will help them move forward. And the U. S. does not ask any country to chose between us and China, or any other country and China." She said the U. S. wanted a level playing field and respect for the rules-based international order that was put in place after World War II, a system that had helped China rise and which ought to benefit all nations.

Ms. Sherman said she had discussed China among a number of topics in a meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Ms. Sherman signed agreements to collaborate more closely with New Zealand on space missions and emergency management. It was the final stop on a trip that had taken her to Samoa, Tonga, the Solomon Islands and Australia.

Ms. Sherman spoke more about the decision of Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to skip a service on Sunday commemorating the Battle of Guadalcanal that she and other dignitaries attended.