Where is Fiji, why is the US trying to militarize it, and how does the island nation tie into Washington’s broader Pacific strategy against China?
The US and Fiji are working on a new “status of forces” agreement which would allow American troops to dramatically ramp up their presence in the island nation, Austin said, adding that the treaty will facilitate “military-to-military engagements,” including joint drills, training of Fijian troops and the deployment and redeployment of American forces.
He assured, however, that the US would not be setting up a permanent base.
Fiji is the latest square in a strategic chessboard Washington is working to set up against China in America’s century-plus-year-old quest to dominate the Pacific, and its post-WWII “Island chain strategy,” which envisions the militarization of a network of islands in the region to stop China’s navy from freely maneuvering through the Pacific, and prevent commercial traffic from reaching the Asian nation in a crisis.
Besides Fiji, the Biden administration has ramped up US ‘containment’-related activities in a host of regional nations. Over the past year or so alone, these efforts have included:
