US
AND PALAU DEAL - INTERNATIONAL
News:
US Set to Sign Security
Pacts with Palau and Micronesia
What's
in the news?
●
The United
States will sign new security pacts with the Pacific Island states of Palau and
Micronesia over the next two days.
Key
takeaways:
●
US signed the Compact of Free Association (COFA) accords with
the three island states in the 1980s, under which it retains responsibility for
their defence and provides economic assistance while gaining exclusive access
to huge strategic swathes of the Pacific in return.
Significance:
●
Renewing them has become a key part of US
efforts to push back against China’s bid to expand its influence in the
Pacific.
●
Chinese diplomats have been courting the
region and China’s construction and mining companies have expanded their
business in many Pacific Island nations.
Go
back to basics:
Palau:
●
It is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean.
●
Rock
Islands Southern Lagoon of Palau is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site
●
Palau created the world’s first shark sanctuary in 2009.