Anxious About US Funding Delay, Pacific Island Nations Warn About China

FILE - From left, Marshall Islands Foreign Minister Jack Ading, Micronesia President Wesley Simina, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Palau President Surangel Whipps speak with reporters at the State Department in Washington, Sept. 26, 2023.

Leaders of strategic U.S.-allied Pacific Island nations have become increasingly anxious about the U.S. congressional budget impasse that has delayed approval of vital new funding packages and have warned that China is actively seeking to shift their allegiances, including over Taiwan.