Harris vows US will strengthen Pacific islands relations

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris assured Pacific islands leaders of more U.S. engagement after acknowledging the United States may not have previously provided the diplomatic attention the region deserved.

The United States and the forum's wealthiest nations, Australia and New Zealand, are concerned about a security pact signed this year between China and Solomon Islands. She proposed new embassies in Tonga and in Kiribati, a Micronesian state that split this week from the 18-nation forum in a major blow to regional harmony. Harris also proposed requesting that the U.S. Congress triple funding for fisheries assistance to $60 million a year and appoint the first U.S. envoy to the forum.