CCECC South Pacific Ltd. base in Papua New Guinea hands over the re-constructed Tari Airport to the government of PNG on September 16, 2020. Photo: CCECC

The White House has announced two upgrades in its interaction with the Pacific Island Countries (PICs): the opening of a new embassy in Tonga and an upcoming visit by President Joe Biden to Papua New Guinea. These moves are widely taken as part of the US' intensifying scramble for the South Pacific in order to counter China's influence in the region, which observers said only reflects the country's anxiety under a Cold War mind-set against China.

The US "officially opened the US Embassy in Nuku'alofa on May 9, 2023," US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement released on Tuesday. 

The statement did not clarify if a special ambassador will be appointed for the new embassy. The US Embassy in Suva, Fiji has served as the diplomatic epicenter for multiple countries since 1971. Marie Damour now is the US Ambassador to the Republic of Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga, Nauru and Tuvalu.

Establishing a new embassy, but having not assigned a new ambassador, leaves doubts over what practical effect the embassy could have, Chen Hong, executive director of the Asia Pacific Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

This rushed action reflects the US' anxiety when being confronted with China's increasing role in the region, Chen said, noting that the new embassy in Tonga is merely established to enhance the US' political presence in the region.    

Biden's visit to Papua New Guinea, which is set for May 22, will take place between stops in Japan and Australia, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. This marks the first visit of a sitting US president to the PICs, CNN reported. 

The new embassy and the Biden visit come along with the US' intensifying scramble for the South Pacific, which is widely viewed as renewed efforts to counter China's rising influence. 

The Biden administration has also announced plans for new embassies in the Kiribati and Vanuatu, according to previous reports by US media. 

Each and every step of the US' promoting its ties with the PICs seems to be saying "America is back." But, with the Cold War mind-set, what the US really brings back to the region is nothing more than dominance and a new form of colonization, and the Pacific Islands people are naturally very clear and alert to this, Chen noted.