Kamala Harris will join Pacific Islands meeting in push to counter China

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - United States Vice-President Kamala Harris will participate in the Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting on Tuesday (July 12), as Washington steps up its engagement to counter China in the region.

She will announce new measures, including the establishment of new US embassies in Kiribati and Tonga, the appointment of the first-ever American envoy to the Pacific Islands Forum, and bringing the Peace Corps back to the region.

She will also establish a regional mission of the US Agency for International Development in Fiji and announce a new request asking Congress for economic assistance for the Pacific Islands that is nearly triple the current levels.

"In short, the Vice-President will be announcing that we are stepping up our game in the Pacific Islands," a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

"This new chapter… will feature increased diplomatic presence on the ground throughout the region," the official said.

The Biden administration has vowed to commit more resources to the Indo-Pacific, as China seeks to boost economic, military and police links with Pacific island nations hungry for foreign investments.

Beijing's growing influence was highlighted by its security pact with the Solomon Islands this year, a move that fanned concerns in Australia, New Zealand and the US.

"We are not asking countries to choose… We are focusing on our own engagement," the administration official replied, when asked about competition with China.

Washington has said it will expedite the opening of an embassy in the Solomon Islands, announced earlier this year when Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Fiji, the first trip there by Washington's top diplomat in four decades.

Tensions between China and the US, and the withdrawal of the remote Pacific island nation of Kiribati, have overshadowed the Pacific Islands Forum as leaders arrived in Fiji on Monday (July 11).