FLASH
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The United States reached security deals with Pacific island nations seen as a key part of US plans to curb China's territorial expansion. But after three years of negotiations, one of these countries, the Marshall Islands, has yet to reach an agreement with Washington. As Voice of America correspondent Jessica Stone reports, the reason for this delay has to do with an agreement to compensate these islands for the United States' nuclear tests there about 60 years ago.
Just days after securing diplomatic recognition for two more Pacific island countries, the United States has failed to extend economic aid to three more countries in the region.
The aid is part of the Free Association Agreements that give Washington exclusive access to large parts of the Pacific Ocean surrounding Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands. Funding ended on September 30.
"It can be said that there was a mission failure."
Howard Hills has led the negotiations to reach agreements with the Pacific Islands, along with the presidential envoy, Ambassador Joseph Yun. Mr Hills left the post on September 7.
Agreements with Micronesia and Palau have been reached, while talks with the Marshall Islands have stalled.
President David Kabua says the Republic of the Marshall Islands still has one outstanding claim.
"The United States must understand that the people of the Marshall Islands demand that the nuclear issue be addressed," he says.
In an interview with VOA, former negotiator Hills says the State Department will not allow Ambassador Yun to officially designate funds as compensation for the consequences of US nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands 60 years ago.
"If the State Department had abandoned its legal position, this issue could have been resolved in 2020, 2021 or 2022."
The State Department declined to comment on the claim, but told VOA that Micronesia and the Marshall Islands "can use unspent funds" or their "trust funds" to meet their budget needs. Palau has funds for another year.
Lawmaker Aumua Amata Radewagen says she has seen firsthand the devastating impact of nuclear testing on Marshall Islanders.
She spent part of her childhood in the Marshall Islands when her father was head of government.
"I remember one time when my father had to send a young boy with various types of cancer to his jersey. These stories remain in my mind. I was a teenager then".
Ambassador Yun has said publicly that Washington bears a moral and political responsibility to address the impact of nuclear testing on islanders, and the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Marshall Islands this spring provides $700 million for a fund that can be used to this purpose.
But former negotiator Hills says the State Department's legal team has refused to formally earmark funds for the nuclear offset because of concerns about other legal ramifications it could have. /VOA
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