1、POLICY BRIEF|FEBRUARY 2023TEMPERATURES RISING:THE STRUGGLE FOR BASES AND ACCESS IN THE PACIFIC ISLANDSBRUCE JONES1FOREIGN POLICY AT BROOKINGSExecutive summaryThe Pacific island clusters of Melanesia,Micronesia,and Polynesia share a geopolitical reality:they lie in the main space that separates the w
2、orlds two biggest powers.The United States has retained an arc of territories and bases across the northern reaches of Oceania,though it has at times neglected the underlying relationships that support this access.Recently,China has been trying to take advantage of that neglect by advancing its econ
3、omic,resource,and diplomatic interests in the region.The Pacific Islands are particularly important to Chinas“coun-terinsurgency”strategy,which seeks to prevent reinforcement of the United States position inside the first island chain a string of islands that encloses the seas immediately off Chinas
4、 eastern coast.Beijings tactics involve using presence,investment,diaspora,elite ties,corruption,and pressure to acquire diplomatic relationships and logistics access.Not all Chinese advances have been successful,but China is making inroads across the southern reaches of the region.While the United
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