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USHERING IN CHANGE: A NEW ERA FOR U.S.

REGIONAL POLICY IN THE PACIFIC

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA, THE PACIFIC AND 

THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

JULY 29, 2009

Serial No. 111–44

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California, Chairman 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

BILL DELAHUNT, Massachusetts 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

MICHAEL E. MCMAHON, New York 

JOHN S. TANNER, Tennessee 

GENE GREEN, Texas 

LYNN WOOLSEY, California 

SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas 

BARBARA LEE, California 

SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada 

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York 

MIKE ROSS, Arkansas 

BRAD MILLER, North Carolina 

DAVID SCOTT, Georgia 

JIM COSTA, California 

KEITH ELLISON, Minnesota 

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, Arizona 

RON KLEIN, Florida 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

RON PAUL, Texas 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

BOB INGLIS, South Carolina 

GUS BILIRAKIS, Florida 

RICHARD J. KESSLER, Staff Director 

YLEEM POBLETE, Republican Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA, THE PACIFIC AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American Samoa, Chairman 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

MIKE ROSS, Arkansas 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois 

BOB INGLIS, South Carolina 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

LISA WILLIAMS, Subcommittee Staff Director 

DANIEL BOB, Subcommittee Professional Staff Member 

NIEN SU, Republican Professional Staff Member 

VILI LEI, Staff Associate 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESS 

Ms. Alcy Frelick, Director, Office of Australia, New Zealand and Pacific 

Island Affairs, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, U.S. Department 

of State .................................................................................................................. 14

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, a Representative in Congress from 

American Samoa, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and 

the Global Environment: 

Prepared statement .............................................................................................. 4

Letter to the Honorable Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister, The Republic of Fiji, dated July 17, 2009 ......................................................................... 32

The Honorable Diane E. Watson, a Representative in Congress from the 

State of California: Prepared statement ............................................................ 9

Ms. Alcy Frelick: 

Statement for the record by Ms. Margot B. Ellis, Acting Assistant Administrator for Asia, U.S. Agency for International Development ........................ 15

Prepared statement .............................................................................................. 20

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 40

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 41

Her Excellency Ms. Marlene Moses, Chair of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Permanent Representative of the Republic of 

Nauru to the United Nations: Written statement ............................................. 42

Ms. Alcy Frelick: Updated prepared statement submitted after the hearing .... 49

(1)

USHERING IN CHANGE: A NEW ERA FOR U.S. 

REGIONAL POLICY IN THE PACIFIC 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2009

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ASIA, THE PACIFIC

AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:23 p.m. in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, the Honorable Eni F. H. 

Faleomavaega, (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. The subcommittee hearing will come to 

order. This is a hearing on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment. 

First of all, I want to offer my sincere apologies for being a little 

late this afternoon. We are delighted to have a briefing from our 

distinguished members of the diplomatic corps who will be testifying at our hearing this afternoon. I first want to say that this is 

a follow-up to a hearing we held last year regarding the subcommittee’s concerns over how our country’s foreign policies relate 

to the interests and needs of the island nations that make up the 

Pacific region. 

I would like at this time to proceed by reading my opening statement, and without objection, my distinguished members and ranking member, as well as our witnesses this afternoon, all your statements will be made part of the record, and any other related materials that you wish to submit will also be made part of the record. 

The topic for discussion in our hearing this afternoon is ‘‘Ushering in Change: A New Era for the U.S. Regional Policy in the Pacific Region.’’

We need a coherent regional policy toward the Pacific. Our overreliance on Australia and New Zealand is proving increasingly 

counterproductive to our interests, especially as resentment toward 

Canberra and Wellington has grown over the years. Moreover, 

given that China and Iran are actively engaged in the region, the 

United States can no longer afford to abdicate its responsibilities, 

nor should we, since the region encompasses sea lanes at the heart 

of transpacific trade and exclusive economic zones containing vast 

resources. Most Pacific nations also have democratically-elected 

governments, they cast 12 votes in the U.N. General Assembly and 

they are among our strongest allies. 

In my personal view, American policy toward the Pacific region 

must begin with more proactive, direct and sustained engagement 

of the countries in the region. We need to make clear that the 

2

United States considers the Pacific Island nations important 

enough that we will chart our own course rather than out-source 

our policymaking to Australia and New Zealand. 

Toward that end, the administration should increase USAID’s 

presence in the region. In 1994, USAID closed its facilities in the 

Pacific—citing budget constraints and shifting strategic priorities. 

However, at the time, the United States was only spending $12 

million annually on the Pacific Island countries. Given an anticipated increase in U.S. resources for the conduct of our foreign policy, I am hopeful that funds will be committed to re-establish a 

USAID presence among the Pacific Island nations. 

A relatively small amount of funds would go a long way toward 

signaling American intentions to re-engage the region. Such a commitment would also allow the implementation of country-level and 

regional projects that meet U.S. developmental goals of fostering 

sustainable economic growth, strengthening democratic institutions 

and addressing the challenges of climate change. 

In terms of providing other resources to the region, I believe we 

should increase the presence of Peace Corps volunteers, offer more 

Fulbright Scholarships and increase funding for the U.S. South Pacific Scholarship Program currently conducted under the auspices 

of the East-West Center. In addition, the administration should actively engage the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank 

and the Asian Development Bank to enhance their programs, 

which address the serious needs of the Pacific region. 

Beyond committing greater resources, the United States should 

demonstrate its interest in the Pacific Island nations through the 

direct involvement of senior-level officials on important occasions. 

I would encourage an early visit to the Pacific Island nations by 

the next Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. I 

would also hope that in the next Pacific Island Conference of Leaders summit (PICL), which will include the United States, that perhaps Washington will commit to high-level participation by, and 

recognition from, the Obama administration. 

The PICL is composed of heads of state and governments from 

the region, and meets only once every 3 years. The last meeting of 

the Pacific leaders was largely ignored by the Bush administration. 

A 10-minute speech by Secretary of State Rice was the extent of 

that administration’s senior-level involvement. 

Moreover, the State Department should consider increasing the 

number of participants in its international visitors leadership program and other exchanges that permit leaders of the Pacific Island 

nations to interact with their American counterparts. In particular, 

I would urge a focus on exchanges demonstrating the depth of the 

administration’s commitment to dealing with climate change. 

The Pacific Island nations are among those most vulnerable to 

sea level rise, coral depletion and the severe weather patterns that 

are occurring as a result of climate change. Indeed, as an example, 

the island state of Tuvalu, with only nine atolls a few feet above 

sea level may soon disappear, necessitating the relocation of its entire population. The same fate awaits many other low-lying atolls, 

not only in the Pacific region, but other regions of the world. 

Complementing environmental efforts aimed at addressing the 

problems associated with climate change, I believe that the adminVerDate 0ct 09 2002 17:38 Nov 16, 2009 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\APGE\072909\51657 HFA PsN: SHIRL
3

istration should increase support for the study of marine biology 

and other marine sciences in partnership with the Pacific Island 

nations. Further, the administration should take steps to submit 

the Pacific Regional Environment Programme and associated protocols for ratification. 

I would also like to work with the administration to promote 

trade and investment in the region. The United States provided 

ample assistance to post-war Germany and Japan, and we have invested billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq. Yet the United States 

seems unable to clean up the nuclear mess that we created in the 

Marshall Islands or to make a concerted effort at working with Pacific Island and American business interests to diversify the region’s economy. Under the Obama administration, I hope this will 

change. 

Just as there was an initiative known as the Caribbean Basin 

Initiative, I hope that the principles and the policies outlined by 

that trade agreement with our Caribbean countries should also be 

looked at very seriously for the Pacific Island nations as a model. 

Finally, I am hopeful that the Obama administration will reassess the U.S. position on signing the South Pacific Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty, known as the Treaty of Rarotonga, an issue 

of longstanding importance to the leaders and people of the region. 

Now I would like to recognize the ranking member of our subcommittee, my good friend, the gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Manzullo, for his opening statement. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Faleomavaega follows:]

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Mr. MANZULLO. Thank you, Chairman. I appreciate your calling 

this hearing regarding America’s policy toward the Pacific Island 

nations. This is a part of the world that the United States has 

overlooked more often than not, much to our own detriment, especially since the People’s Republic of China is actively investing lots 

of resources into cultivating strong relations there. 

Aside from grants provided under the Compacts of Free Association and the Millennium Challenge Account funding for Vanuatu, 

America’s direct assistance to the Pacific is low. U.S. policy in this 

part of the world must refocus to the challenges of the twenty-first 

century and not be a relic of the past. 

I continue to be concerned about the situation in Fiji, particularly after the regime abrogated the nation’s Constitution in April 

of this year. This action, taken in response to a ruling against the 

military regime’s ouster of a democratically-elected government by 

the nation’s Court of Appeals is extremely worrisome, and it illustrates the dire consequences of a military rule. 

Not surprisingly, the regime arrested a group of Methodist 

Church leaders, and one of Fiji’s most prominent chiefs only 2 

weeks ago for planning to hold a church annual conference. Thus, 

I urge the administration to do more to pressure the regime to hold 

free and fair elections as soon as possible. 

Maintaining a strong relationship with Australia must remain a 

key priority for the United States. Australia is one of America’s 

closest friends and knows the Pacific region obviously better than 

we do. A strong partnership with Australia is vital to our national 

security. I supported the Free Trade Agreement with Australia in 

the 108th Congress, and I am happy that this partnership has 

turned out to be a significant benefit for both countries. 

United States exports to Australia have soared since the agreement came into force, rising from $15.5 billion in 2005 to $22.2 billion in 2008. Exports from Illinois to Australia have also risen, 

going from $36.1 million to $53.7 million. In fact, the number one 

exported good from Illinois to Australia is a large off-highway 

dump truck. Amazingly we have a trade surplus with Australia. 

My question for our distinguished witness is simple. With regard 

to China’s increased presence in the Pacific, how has Australia’s relationship with China changed, particularly in light of recent trade 

tensions? Have the collapse of global commodity prices, and the arrest of Rio Tinto mining employees by China ruin the honeymoon 

between Beijing and Canberra? 

New Zealand is another bright spot for America’s relations in the 

Pacific, particularly in the past few years. I understand the New 

Zealand Government has expressed a strong interest in negotiating 

some form of trade agreement between our two countries. If this 

is correct, I would like to hear the administration’s position regarding the proposal. I am also curious as to the status of the Transpacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement. 

On an issue related to trade, it is my understanding that Air 

New Zealand, which is owned by the Government of New Zealand, 

recently issued a request for a proposal to replace its narrow-body 

aircraft fleet. Given the importance of the manufacturing sector to 

create and sustain good paying American jobs, I trust the State 

8

and Commerce Departments are doing all they can to abdicate on 

behalf of American industry. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this hearing, and I look forward to your testimony. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I thank the gentleman for his opening statement, and now I would like to turn the time over to the distinguished member of our subcommittee, the former Ambassador to 

the Federated State of Micronesia, the gentlelady from California, 

Dr. Watson, for her opening statement. 

Ms. WATSON. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and I think it 

is so important that you are holding this hearing on a new era for 

U.S. regional policy in the Pacific, and I know the last time we 

went on a CODEL we were with you and I think we need to take 

more down into this area of the Pacific so more of the decision 

makers and the lawmakers can understand the need in a changing 

era in this particular area of the world. 

The United States for many years enjoyed a lasting and significant partnership with the people and government of the Pacific. As 

a former Ambassador to Micronesia, I recognize the importance of 

this friendship, but I am also aware of the many outstanding issues 

in the region, including the quadulan lease extension, the situation 

in Fiji, and I was there, Mr. Chairman. You might remember me 

telling you, and I could feel in the atmosphere that something was 

going on because the locals were complaining about the takeover of 

government by people from other countries, and as soon as I got 

back to Micronesia there was a coup, and we have been trying to 

assist that ever since then, that there will be a democratic process 

in electing a new. But it was very telling hearing from the native 

people themselves. 

We also know that there is an increasing poverty rate and it is 

the effects of global economic downturn and the negative climate 

change that will continue to hinder its fragile ecosystems which in 

turn affect both the global community and the local populations, 

and it is my hope that under our President Obama we will commit 

to strengthen our relationship and renew U.S. development and aid 

commitments to our friends in the Pacific. 

Mr. Chairman, I raised an issue yesterday as we were talking 

about health care, and you might have heard the representative 

from Hawaii say that, you know, we need to be sure that Medicare 

is reimbursed, the services be reimbursed. Well, I do know in Micronesia we didn’t have the health care infrastructure down in our 

islands, so our people would go up to Guam and Hawaii, and there 

was a broad debt that was placed on these two areas because we 

were not paying as we were going. 

So I do hope, Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, that we as a policymaking body would look at our territories and be sure that they 

are funded to the extent they can pay their own way for the new 

health care system that we hopefully set up. 

Please excuse me as I go to an emergency meeting just called, 

and I will look forward to hearing from witnesses. My staff is here, 

and they will inform me, and I am sure they will bring us most 

important information that we need to hear. Thank you so much, 

Mr. Chairman. 

9

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I thank the gentlelady for her statement. 

Without objection, her statement will be made part of the record 

as well as other members who wish to make statements part of the 

record. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Watson follows:]


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Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I do want to thank the gentleman from Illinois for his comments concerning the situation in Fiji. For the 

record, I would like to share with my colleagues that I returned 

from Fiji about 11⁄2 weeks ago, after consultations with the interim 

prime minister of Fiji. I want to share a little sense of experience 

and history with my colleagues to the effect that Fiji has had a colonial history in the past, and many of us here in America have no 

idea of the concept of what happened in this important island 

group in the Pacific. 

When you have had to grapple with some very serious ethnic 

issues among the local inhabitants, when you have had four military coups and one civilian coup and three Constitutions, and have 

had to deal with all of this in a 20-year period, I will submit to the 

gentlelady and my colleague from Illinois that the situation in Fiji 

is not that simple. I have been very vocal and very critical of the 

conduct and actions taken by the leaders of Australia and New 

Zealand, and I say this for the record, their heavy handedness and 

being so critical, and not really having a sense of appreciation of 

what the leaders of the people of Fiji have had to work with in 

terms of the current situation that they are now confronted with. 

So I just want to note for the record, as I did not have a chance 

to share with my colleagues, we had Ambassador Rice, U.S. representative——

Ms. WATSON. Mr. Chairman, will you yield for a moment? 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I would be glad to yield to the gentlelady. 

Ms. WATSON. When I mentioned Fiji, I got on a bus with people 

who were visiting from Europe. No one knew who I was, and no 

one else spoke English. So I sat up in the front and I was right 

next to one of the Fijians, and I said, are you sure you are not from 

Crenshaw Boulevard in my district? That is the main thoroughfare, 

and he looked like most of the people in that neighborhood, and 

spoke English. And I finally figured out why he was constantly 

pointing out and showing the names of the businesses. When we 

got into the downtown area of the main city there was not a Fijian 

name up on those signs, professionals and all. 

And what he was really crying out for, and since these had been 

colonial territories in the past, that it was now time that the native 

population be full participants. 

We have gone through that in this country too, and I had a 

chance to get back to my post and consider my experiences, and 

then read about the coup, and hearing your remarks just reminded 

me that when we go into these countries and we completely isolate, 

push back the native people, there is a time that they say we are 

not going to take it anymore. And so we don’t really train them and 

educate them to become leaders in a democratic sense. 

You know, we go in there and we reap and we are gone, and so 

I think there is a big opening under this new administration to go 

back in, reevaluate our support, and rather than going into the 

Middle East and training people there we ought to remember people in the Pacific, in the various nations of Africa, and the areas 

that have really pretty much been neglected by the western world. 

So I wanted to say that in relationship to what you are saying, 

and thank you so much. I think it is important that we have a series of dialogues. 

12

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I thank the gentlelady for her comments. In 

fact, when Secretary Clinton appeared before the full committee, I 

raised the subject of Fiji, and I am very grateful that Secretary 

Clinton has given her personal attention and willingness and commitment to work with our subcommittee members and to see what 

we can do to give assistance to the current crisis in Fiji. 

I might also note to the gentlelady that I wanted to address the 

issue of Fiji with Secretary Rice, our U.S. Ambassador to the 

United Nations, and the latest development from what I hear that 

Fiji is still a full-fledged member of the United Nations, and I am 

informed that New Zealand and Australia now are trying every 

way possible to cut off any more opportunities for the military 

forces of Fiji that currently participate in peacekeeping operations 

since 1978. And I will also note for the record that the assistance 

the military forces of Fiji have given to the United Nations and to 

our world community is second to none in terms of how much our 

country has appreciated what the Fijian military has done to be 

part of our peacekeeping operations in the United Nations. 

But what really is disturbing to me is why Australia and New 

Zealand are singling out Fiji and to disallow Fijian soldiers to continue their efforts to participate in the peacekeeping operation. 

Ms. WATSON. Would you yield for——

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I will be glad to yield to the gentlelady. 

Ms. WATSON. As a result of this hearing, and maybe subsequent 

hearings, could we from this subcommittee send a letter to the Secretary of State and in that letter stating the position you just now 

did, and so we can bring some attention to the fact that two of our 

partners down in that area of the world would like to decrease the 

number of forces coming from Fiji or eliminate them altogether, 

and at a time when we need friends throughout the world to partner with us as we go into territories and we are involved in conflicts, and also we’re involved in a tremendous crisis, that she 

ought to take a look? 

And as you know, former President Clinton is an envoy to Haiti, 

and so she might want to send down an envoy to this area to look 

at the Fiji situation and other areas around. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I would say to my good friend I will personally draft a letter and we will have the members of our subcommittee sign on. We are going to send it to President Obama as 

well as to Secretary Clinton, and I think that we should have this 

kind of communication with the leaders of Fiji. 

Yes, they are having problems, but I don’t think it is fair that 

we should hammer them and continue to be so cynical and critical 

of the difficult situation that the leaders of Fiji are trying to resolve, not only among themselves but especially among their people. 

So I gladly thank my good friend. I definitely will be working on 

that in the coming weeks, and I thank the gentlelady. 

By the way, Dr. Watson, Fiji has produced some of the best 

rugby players in the world. This is a little ongoing contest between 

the Samoans, the Maoris, the Fijians, and the Tongans as to who 

are the best rugby players in the world. You will find them in the 

Pacific. 

13

Ms. WATSON. I can tell you one thing, that every small village 

on the Island of Fiji that has sand on top of the earth, you know, 

a little level of sand, they have the Continent of Africa, the Island 

of Fiji, and they use the shells to show the trek across the ocean 

to Fiji. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you, Dr. Watson. I deeply appreciate 

your comments, and I want to offer my apologies again to our distinguished guests here before the subcommittee. 

I know that there was an agreement that the distinguished Ambassador from the Republic of Nauru would be the spokesman on 

behalf of our Pacific Ambassadors, and I would like to personally 

welcome her, Marlene Moses. I have also invited our other distinguished Ambassadors from the Marshall Islands, from the Federated States of Micronesia, and from the Republic of Fiji to join 

us. 

Ambassador Moses started her career as a Foreign Service Officer. Since 1983, she has served as consul general in New Zealand, 

Japan and Australia; she became permanent secretary of internal 

affairs for the Republic of Nauru; and she served as Ambassador 

not only to the United Nations, but also to the United States, the 

Republic of Cuba and also Venezuela. That is quite a hefty responsibility there, Marlene. 

She received her collegiate education from Canberra College and 

advanced education at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. 

Madam Ambassador, I will have you take the lead on your opening statement, and without objection I am also going to invite your 

colleagues and your distinguished Ambassadors if they have any 

written materials or statements that they would like to submit to 

be made part of the record. It will be done, and then maybe we can 

just dialogue based on your statement, Madam Ambassador, and 

we will then proceed from there. 

[Discussion off the record.] 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Our next witness this afternoon is Ms. Alcy 

Frelick. She is a career service officer, and is currently serving as 

Director of the Office of Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island 

Affairs within the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs in the 

U.S. Department of State. 

Ms. Frelick has served in various posts, not only in the Western 

Hemisphere, including Mexico, the Caribbean and Canada, she also 

had overseas assignments in East Asia, and as consul general in 

Madrid, Spain. Also, Ms. Frelick was the principal officer in our 

Embassy in Aukland, New Zealand, as well as having portfolios 

covering the Cook Islands, Samoa and other small island nations. 

She also served as the chief visa immigration officer in Seoul, 

Korea, and in consulates in Kathmandu, Nepal, and as vice consul 

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

She was a director of the UCLS project in Beijing, China, and 

managed an education project for Save the Children in Vietnamese 

refugee camps and in Indonesia, and also served in the Peace 

Corps in Kabul, Afghanistan, years ago. 

She is originally from the State of Delaware, and is currently residing in Northern Virginia. 

I do want to apologize sincerely for the delay in our hearing this 

afternoon, Ms. Frelick, but I do want to welcome you and thank 

14

you for taking the time to come and testify before the subcommittee. 

I will now give you time for your statement. 

STATEMENT OF MS. ALCY FRELICK, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF 

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND PACIFIC ISLAND AFFAIRS, 

BUREAU OF EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Ms. FRELICK. Thank you very much, Chairman Faleomavaega, 

distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting 

me to appear today to testify regarding ushering in change, a new 

era for U.S. regional policy in the Pacific. I welcome the opportunity to address our policy toward this important region. 

The United States values its longstanding and close relationships 

with the countries and peoples of the Pacific. Indeed, we are ourselves a Pacific nation with a lengthy Pacific coast, the State of Hawaii, and stretching to the Northern Marianas and American 

Samoa. Nothing could better underscore this fact than the election 

of Hawaiian-born Barack Obama, as the 44th President of the 

United States. 

The United States engages with the Pacific Island countries both 

bilaterally and multilaterally to address issues of concern to the 

United States, the region and the world. Our multifaceted engagement with the Pacific covers the gamut from addressing climate 

change to maintaining a robust missile defense infrastructure. 

Most importantly, we seek to work with the governments and the 

people of the Pacific to foster stable, democratic, and prosperous 

countries. 

I have submitted written testimony which addresses some of the 

specific questions that were raised in your invitation to testify 

today. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Without objection your statement will be 

made part of the record. 

Ms. FRELICK. Thank you very much. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. And any other submissions that you wish to 

make will be made part of the record. 

Ms. FRELICK. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

The first issue I would like to address this afternoon is U.S. foreign assistance to the Pacific, including the Compacts of Free Association. I would like to note also, Mr. Chairman, that USAID has 

provided written testimony for the record and which should provide 

more information specific to the account of USAID involvement in 

the Pacific region. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Without objection it will be made part of the 

record. 

[The information referred to follows:]

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Ms. FRELICK. Certainly major components of our regional assistance programs are linked to the Compacts of Free Association with 

the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. Under the terms of the contacts, 

all three countries receive U.S. support in the form of direct assistance and through access to Federal programs, grants and services. 

Administered primarily by the Department of Interior, this totals 

over $200 million annually. The Millennium Challenge Corporation has a 5-year, $66 million 

compact with Vanuatu, which focuses on transportation infrastructure. USAID’s regional development mission for Asia, which is 

based in Bangkok, manages several programs in the Pacific, like 

the $2.5 million program for dealing with the scourge of HIV/AIDS 

and in tropic forest conservation program in Papua New Guinea. 

Both Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands are included in 

the Coral Triangle Initiative. 

USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, or OFDA, has 

provided disaster assistance to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the 

Solomon Islands in the past year. Last November OFDA assigned 

a representative to our Embassy in Majuro with responsibility for 

immediate disaster response for Micronesia and the Marshalls. 

The U.S. Navy’s specific partnership program has been providing 

medical, dental, veterinary and engineering assistance in the Asia 

Pacific region for several years now. In 2008, the Pacific partnership provided medical treatment to over 20,000 people in Papua 

New Guinea and 17,000 people in Micronesia. They are currently 

in the midst of a 3-month mission to Samoa, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and the Marshall Islands. The Navy and the 

Pacific fleet are committing more than $20 million this year to this 

mission. 

In addition to these bilateral programs the United States is a 

member and supporter of some of the region’s most important multilateral programs. Through the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, we contributed assistance to 22 Pacific Island countries and 

territories. Agencies like NOAA provides support through the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme (SPREP), which you mentioned earlier, and 14 Pacific Island countries receive a combined 

$18 million annually through the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. 

We will be participating in the Pacific Island forum/post-forum 

dialogue meetings next week in Cairns, Australia. This year a 

major theme for the dialogue partners is donor coordination. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will lead a robust interagency delegation to meet and consult with Pacific leaders. The 

strong U.S. presence in Cairns is an indication of the Obama administration’s commitment to the region. 

Before I leave the topic, I would like to note that our coordination with Pacific Island countries on global issues is a dynamic and 

interactive one. Citizens of the freely associated states serve honorably in the U.S. military services. Tongan soldiers fought alongside 

U.S. troops in Iraq, and Tonga is moving forward in a peaceful 

transition on its path toward a constitutional democracy. In June, 

the U.N. General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution 

sponsored by Nauru and other Pacific small island developing 

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tions.’’ This resolution underscored the dire nature of the threats 

that climate change posed to their nations and was supported by 

the United States as Ambassador Moses mentioned. 

Tuvalu has just announced its commitment to become energy 

independent by 2020. Micronesia was selected for an award in 

April 2009 that recognized that they were accelerating the phaseout of hydrocarbon, fluorocarbons beyond the requirements of the 

Montreal Protocol, and I would like especially to express our appreciation to President Toribiong and the people and Government of 

Palau for their humanitarian offer to resettle detainees from Guantanamo Bay. 

Ambassador Susan Rice recognized the terrific cooperation we 

enjoy with Pacific Island countries in the United Nations by 

hosting the Pacific Island Permanent Representatives for her first 

representational event at the United Nations earlier this year. 

Pacific Island countries are stalwart friends and we share a similar world view and values. The United States is firmly committed 

to the advancement of human rights and democracy worldwide. In 

this regard, we want to thank you, particularly Chairman 

Faleomavaega, for your leadership of the U.S. delegation during 

election observations in Micronesia this past March. We support 

cultural and academic exchanges, recognize women of courage, and 

provide annual reports on human rights and trafficking in persons 

to Congress. 

Certainly, as mentioned earlier, the most troubling political issue 

in the Pacific today is the situation in Fiji. The military cop of December 2006 and subsequent events around Easter of this year 

when the interim government abrogated the Constitution have 

been troubling. Fiji’s coup leaders recently released a roadmap to 

democracy that did not take credible steps to restore democratic 

rule, other than to promise to begin working 3 years from now on 

a new Constitution leading to elections in 2014. 

Public emergency regulations remain in place. The press remains 

heavily censored and the right of assembly is severely restricted. 

Just 2 weeks ago the leaders of the Methodist Church and one of 

Fiji’s three paramount traditional chiefs were arrested for planning 

to hold the church’s annual conference despite government ban. 

The United States responded to the Fiji coup by imposing sanctions in accordance with Section 508 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. Our sanctions are targeted against the military 

regime while we continue to assist the people of Fiji through programs geared toward strengthening civil society, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief. Meanwhile, we also maintain full diplomatic relations with Fiji. 

We are closely following the statements of Pacific Island leaders 

and the actions of the Pacific Island Forum which suspended Fiji 

in May. We believe that the return of democracy to Fiji will necessitate the early and sustained restoration of such basic human 

rights as freedom of speech and assembly. 

I would like to conclude my remarks today by looking at the activities of other important players in the region. First and foremost 

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ship role Australia plays as the largest country in the South Pacific 

region. 

New Zealand is our other close regional partner. We collaborate 

intensively with New Zealand on a broad range of issues from democracy promotion to renewable energy. We have also been working with Japan, which is playing an increasingly welcome role in 

the Pacific; the European Union, and individual European countries that are also engaged in projects in the Pacific, and we welcome opportunities to expand our coordination with them. 

I am pleased to note that since the election of President Ma in 

Taiwan, China and Taiwan appear to have curtailed their competition for diplomatic recognition. That what we call checkbook diplomacy undermined good governance and distorted political processes. We encourage both parties to follow international norms of 

transparency when providing foreign assistance in the region. 

In conclusion, let me reaffirm that the Pacific Region is important to the United States. We seek to identify new and better opportunities to increase our engagement with the governments and 

peoples of the Pacific. We benefit from and appreciate the active interest and support from Congress, and look forward to working together to craft effective policies and programs to meet the mutual 

needs of the United States and the countries of the Pacific. 

Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify today. I 

would be happy to answer any questions you might have. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Frelick follows:]

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Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Thank you for your very thoughtful and concise statement concerning the situation in the Pacific region. 

You had indicated earlier in your testimony that the 44th President of the United States was born in the State of Hawaii. I don’t 

know if you are aware of this, but at the height of the Presidential 

elections last year there was a national blog or blogger, I am not 

very good at computers, going around saying that I was appointed 

as a special agent of Barack Obama for which I went to Indonesia, 

went to Jakarta, attended even the school that he went to when 

he was a young man, and that my mission as a special agent of 

Barack Obama was to destroy any records giving any reference to 

the idea that he was born in Indonesia and not in Hawaii. 

What surprises me is that this nonsense is still going on in the 

blogging community. But it seems lately even in the most current 

news stories and television that there seems to be rejection among 

some of our leaders here in Washington about this rumor that is 

going on that Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen. 

I would like to state for the record quite clearly that my colleague from the State of Hawaii, Neil Abercrombie, not only knew 

Barack Obama’s parents when they were teaching at the University of Hawaii, but specifically said that Barack Obama was born 

in Kapi’olani Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. I just want to make 

sure that that record is straight, once and for all. 

I was curious, Ms. Frelick, you mentioned the foreign assistance 

that we have given to the island nations, I guess more specifically, 

Micronesia, to the tune of about $200 million. And I am a little 

puzzled if we consider this foreign assistance, or is it part of our 

treaty obligations that we have toward the Marshall Islands, 

Palau, and the Federal States of Micronesia? 

Maybe I am dealing with semantics here, but I was just curious. 

How do we label this program as part of treaty obligations that we 

have had in exchange for establishing this very unique political relationship with these three sovereign nations in the Pacific in exchange for their friendship. And I suppose, to the extent that if we 

have ever a need to show our national strategic and security interests in this region of the Pacific, that that is the reason why we 

are paying them $200 million or whatever it is. I suppose, as advocated by the Department of Defense, and why we consider these islands as very strategic and very important to our own national interest. Would you care to comment on that? 

Ms. FRELICK. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for that question. I 

have to confess that I am not a lawyer so the semantical differences between treaty obligations, foreign assistance, and how exactly all that fits with the compact would be something that I 

would need to refer back and have legal advice before I ventured 

into that particular quagmire. 

But I would like to address it because I think that when we are 

looking at our relationships with the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands is those are certainly unique relationships. Perhaps the pivotal moment of the relationships was when they became U.N. Trust 

Territories under U.S. authority after World War II, and then as 

the compacts were concluded and we moved forward under the 

compact relationships, it a unique relationship. 

30

The domestic agency, the Department of Interior has the primary 

responsibility for implementing the Compacts of Free Association, 

and yet they are independent countries. So I would have to say 

that I think at least on an operational basis it is somewhere—it 

sort of bridges both of those areas as both foreign assistance and 

comes in as treaty obligations for us. 

I think it is a relationship that we both benefit from, and that 

the richness and the strength of our relationships is not totally 

something that can be put down to dollars and cents, however. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. I might also add, Ms. Frelick, and I do want 

to say this for the record in fairness to our allies Australia and 

New Zealand, that I do want to commend them for all the efforts 

they have made in providing assistance to these island nations because, in my opinion, we are not doing enough as far as the United 

States alone. So I do want to commend Australia and New Zealand 

for their efforts in helping our island nations simply because we 

are totally absent. We are not even there. We don’t even show presence. If we do, certainly it is not what I would expect would be 

something that would show our sense of credibility in our presence, 

or lack of presence there in the Pacific. 

I want to note also for the record that the U.S. Navy, recently, 

in the Pacific partnership program that you stated earlier, that 

some 460 doctors that went on this hospital ship, and went and visited all of these island countries, and provided assistance to thousands of Pacific Islanders in the various communities. And I want 

to commend the Navy. I think that is $120 million funding and 

usage that is most worthwhile and certainly makes me proud to see 

that that is money in good use to help our fellow human beings in 

this part of the world. 

On the question of Palau, you know there is a lot of hype in the 

media right now, and I must say that I was very moved by the 

statements made by the President of Palau as to the reasons why 

he felt that his government had to step up to the plate in wanting 

to take in these 13 prisoners who were taken, for some odd reason, 

to Guantanamo. His doing so was not to kiss up to the United 

States, but it was as part of a Pacific culture again. If people are 

in need, you help. Where are these 13 Uighurs going to be living 

was the question? We refused refuge for these 13 Uighurs who had 

been determined as non-terrorists. I am a little disappointed personally why we cannot in our capacity take in 13 human beings 

among the 300 million living here in the United States. But I want 

to commend Palau, a small, little island nation that feels very 

strongly that it is part of the culture and say, ‘‘We don’t want to 

leave these people out in the street stranded.’’ They should be sheltered, and I do commend the President of Palau for the initiative 

that he has taken. 

Now, unfortunately, the Government of China has a very different attitude and different reasons for thinking that these people 

are terrorists. And the likelihood is that if these people ever were 

to return to China they will either end up dead or in prison. So we 

are caught in the middle in somewhat of a predicament in terms 

of how we—I think the term was ‘‘rendition’’—gathered up all these 

suspected terrorists from all over the world, and brought them to 

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awful mistakes in bringing some of these people who are totally innocent. And now we are trying to solve the problem, unfortunately, 

to the extent that we have to find other countries willing to take 

these members of the Uighur people who live in the most extreme 

western region of China which borders Kazakhstan and other countries right there in Central Asia. 

So I do want to ask, where are we in terms of the status of the 

13 Uighurs? Are they going to Palau? Are there problems that we 

are having with that transition? 

I believe there is an amendment pending in the appropriations 

bill that was introduced by my colleague Congressman Murtha to 

prohibit the transfer of any of the Uighurs to any U.S. territory or 

State. I don’t know how far this is going to go, but I just wanted 

to let you know that this is coming down the pipeline and I was 

curious about the State Department’s position on this. 

Ms. FRELICK. Well, I think actually, Mr. Chairman, you spoke 

very eloquently of the Pacific way earlier in your statement when 

you spoke about a brother reaching out a hand to another brother, 

and I think that your commendation of Palau is something that I 

could not have said better myself; that certainly the President and 

the people of Palau have really reached out their hands to these 

individuals. 

I know that Special Envoy Fried has been working very closely 

with the Government of Palau to make the arrangements for the 

transfer of the Uighurs and working with Uighur counsel. There 

are details to be worked out, as you can imagine, and those are in 

the process of being worked out now. 

The Government of Palau said that they do not want to have any 

Uighurs come who don’t willingly come, and so we need to make 

sure that the Uighurs who are resettled in Palau understand 

where Palau is and are——

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Teach them how to swim, too. 

Ms. FRELICK. Well, that is right. Part of the resettlement program. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. We had discussed earlier, as you know, with 

my colleague from Illinois, the situation of Fiji. As I had mentioned, I will, without objection, submit for the record a copy of the 

letter that I submitted personally to interim Prime Minister 

Bainimarama. That was about 11⁄2 weeks ago, and I submitted the 

copy of the same letter to our Ambassador to Fiji. 

[The information referred to follows:]

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Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Contained in that letter were some suggestions I offered on the roadmap, the proposal that Prime Minister 

Bainimarama gave to the people of Fiji, and to the region for that 

matter. Of course, there is always disagreement, and perhaps 

somewhere along the line we may find a sense of mutual agreement on some of the issues raised. 

As you had mentioned earlier, 2014 is the target date for holding 

elections. The Constitution was abrogated. As I said earlier, Fiji 

has had to live with three Constitutions in a matter of 20 years; 

four military takeovers and one civilian takeover all within 20 

years. 

So this is where I offered my sense of concern that sometimes 

our friends and allies in the Pacific seem to be making demands 

that there should be immediate elections and thinking that this is 

going to solve Fiji’s problem, yet only to expect that maybe down 

the road we will have another military coup. And I think more 

than anything in my personal consultations with Prime Minister 

Bainimarama, that is where he is any way, at all cost to prevent 

another military coup from taking place in Fiji. 

So, I really think that this is something that I hope Assistant 

Secretary Campbell will give his attention. I definitely will bring 

this issue to his attention sometime tomorrow when I meet with 

him, and I sincerely hope that we will not lose interest in doing all 

we can in assisting the leaders of Fiji and their people. 

You had indicated earlier also about the alliance. Absolutely I 

cannot think the situation in our close alliance with Australia. 

When New Zealand announced a nuclear free zone policy where 

they will deny any U.S. ships or aircraft from coming to New Zealand since we have the policy, the standing policy they cannot deny 

or admit the presence of nuclear weapons in our aircraft and in our 

ships, I think this policy by New Zealand still stands. And this has 

also bothered a lot of Members of Congress to this day, even 

though this took place years and years ago. In a sense, it is like 

saying we are doing all the dirty work in the Pacific not only in 

our own national defense, but also the defense of our allies. And 

it was kind of a very dark page in our history during President 

Reagan’s administration whereby we immediately cut off any further intelligence or military information with the Government of 

New Zealand because of that. 

Now, I do not know where the administration stands on this. Are 

we still going to continue looking at New Zealand with that one little problem, because we are denied our ships and aircraft to moor 

into their harbors and their airports due to never admitting the 

presence of nuclear weapons? I think that is still a serious problem 

among my colleagues here in the Congress as far as that policy is 

concerned. 

On China and checkbook diplomacy, I just want to say for the 

record that there was concern expressed by one of our State Department officials about 2 years ago about checkbook diplomacy 

currently conducted or has been conducted by China and Taiwan 

over the favors of these island countries. I had to interrupt the gentleman by saying, ‘‘Wait a minute, we just gave $8 billion to Iraq 

in cash that we are having a hard time accounting for.’’

37

So I did suggest to the gentleman while it may be checkbook diplomacy that China and Taiwan are doing, but we are conducting 

cash diplomacy that we have a hard time finding out what happened to the money that we gave during the Iraq War. 

So I think we have to be a little careful when we start putting 

labels and saying that we are making checkbook diplomacy by 

these other countries, and yet our own Government is doing something even more glaring in a way that I say, well, is there a difference? I think there is a difference. 

Our close association and alliance with Japan, it is true. I am 

very, very happy that my good friend, President Ma, has established a much better working relationship with the People’s Republic of China. He conducted his campaign on that platform, and for 

which the voters of Taiwan turned out overwhelmingly saying yes, 

establish peaceful, cordial relations with the People’s Republic of 

China. And I think this is part of our own fundamental foreign policy. Whatever is between China and Taiwan, it should be resolved 

in a peaceful manner and not go through another experience of 

having to send two carrier battle groups to the Taiwan Straits as 

happened during the Clinton administration. I don’t think my colleagues here would ever want to go through that experience again 

where we came close to a nuclear war with China over something 

we ought to be able to prevent. 

I am sorry. I did not mean to rattle on. I just wanted to share 

with you some of these issues that come before the subcommittee 

affecting our region. 

I do appreciate very much your comments and your statement 

and your commitment that we can always do a better job, if I can 

put it in those terms, as I am sure that our friends and our supporters in the Pacific region want very much to continue our close 

working relationship with them now and in the future. So I will 

give you one more opportunity if you would like to have another 

chance to take a shot at that. 

Ms. FRELICK. I just want to thank you very much for holding this 

hearing today. I have been working with Ambassador Moses and 

some of the other permanent representatives in New York who are 

also bilateral Ambassadors to the United States. It has been a real 

pleasure to work with them. I look forward to going to the Pacific 

Island Forum, post-forum dialogue meetings next week in Cairns, 

and I think the more we can work together with not only the regional partners but the other donor countries in the region who 

have an interest in the Pacific the better we can do to try to address some of the very real issues that we have to deal with in the 

Pacific. These are wonderful countries, rich cultures, enormous resources, and we do care, and we want to do everything we can to 

have the U.S. presence felt and to have that be a positive presence. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Ms. Frelick, I look forward to working with 

you and Secretary Campbell and members of the bureau. I think 

we are going to have an exciting time not only with the Pacific, but 

also with the countries of the Asian continent. Again, I really want 

to thank you for taking the time to come and be with us this afternoon. 

The hearing is hereby closed. 

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[Whereupon, at 3:37 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 

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