CDR Salamander - At last, the long awaited diplomatic push into the SW Pacific

Alarms have been going off for well over a decade about the neglect of the island nations and territories in the Southwest Pacific where tens of thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Japanese died fighting during the last great Pacific war, WWII.

Regulars here are familiar with previous articles from 2022 through 2025, in addition to her 2024 visit to the Midrats Podcast, by our friend Cleo Paskal, all demonstrating her consistent advocacy in the area.

If you’re new to the topic and want to catch up on the recent history, read the links above and come back. You can set up the podcast for a listen on your next commute.

We have a nice bit of supporting fires on the issue via a backgrounder that came out from Heritage yesterday by Andrew J. Harding, “Aloha and Stay Tuned”: The Trump Administration’s Pacific Policy Inventory.

It looks like, at last, this critically important part of the Pacific is getting the attention it deserves,

On August 6, 2026, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau personally responded to, on social media, a Foreign Policy article1 critiquing the Trump Administration’s approach to the Pacific Islands.2 Deputy Secretary Landau is correct: Contrary to the claims that the Trump Administration has “sorely neglected” the Pacific Islands,3 the Trump Administration has been active in the Pacific, has a strong vision for the region, and has registered multiple successes. As Deputy Secretary Landau’s social media fact-checking indicates, however, more work is needed to publicly articulate the Administration’s approach, and this Backgrounder seeks to do so. In the words of Deputy Secretary Landau: “Aloha and stay tuned.”4

As a sidebar, that article referenced above is, Trump’s Pacific Island Blind Spot, by Derek Grossman. It is an amazing bit of hackery. It reads as if the islands of the Southwest Pacific suddenly emerged from the sea less than two years ago and that there were no issues at all the last few decades…just nothing.

Hackery. Just partisan, in-group-signaling hackery.

Back to the Heritagebackgrounder.

What has actually been going on since 2025?

The Trump Administration has taken multiple steps to turn its national security vision into practical regional policy. The Pacific Policy Inventory serves as one of the most comprehensive publicly available inventories of the Trump Administration’s engagements and announcements since January 2025. (See the appendix.)21 The purpose of this inventory is not merely to catalogue activities but to demonstrate how the Administration’s policy has translated strategic objectives into action with Pacific Island countries. The appendix includes details on the inventory’s methodology and acknowledgements.

Inventory Findings. Contrary to claims that the Trump Administration has “sorely neglected” the Pacific Islands,22 the United States has been very active in the Pacific and has introduced and committed to multiple new initiatives. Key findings from the inventory include:

• More than 100 publicly reported Pacific-related actions and initiatives have been announced, implemented, or expanded across multiple domains since January 2025.

• More than $2 billion in projected infrastructure activity in Yap, one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

• More than $700 million in publicly announced assistance, infrastructure support, investments, grants, and other initiatives, excluding projects without disclosed values, the projected Yap infrastructure figure, broader Compact of Free Association (COFA) assistance funds, and financing authorities.

• At least 15 maritime security initiatives.

• At least 15 digital connectivity, transportation, and infrastructure initiatives. At least seven critical mineral and energy security initiatives.

• More than 25 Freely Associated States (FAS)–related initiatives and engagements, representing roughly one-quarter of all identified Pacific-related actions and initiatives.

• More than 15 senior-level engagements, official visits, forums, summits, and related events.

• Deputy Secretary Landau has traveled to nine Pacific Island countries, including all three FAS, hosted the 2026 U.S.–Pacific Islands Investment Summit, and represented the United States at the 2026 Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting.

Are we playing catch up? Sure. Is there a lot more to do? Absolutely, and this is where people writing things like Grossman’s article need to be put in a corner.

America’s interests in the Southwest Pacific are bipartisan and will be an ongoing effort for generations, as all diplomatic efforts are.

The Southwest Pacific was neglected by both parties for decades. You could replace ‘Trump’ with ‘Harris’ in my writing on this topic today, and it would read the same. I wish that were true for everyone, but it isn’t.

It appears that we have a heartbeat and a bit of inertia now in the Southwest Pacific. Everyone in the national security arena, regardless of whether you wear a blue or a red jersey, you should support and encourage all efforts here.

Who can oppose these recommendations made by the author of the backgrounder?

Recommendations for the United States

To optimize U.S. engagement with the Pacific Islands, the President of the United States should:

• Host a U.S.–Pacific Islands Summit. …

• Visit a Freely Associated State or U.S. Pacific Territory. …

The Trump Administration as a whole should:

• Continue Pursuing Shared Interests and Delivering Results in Policy Engagements. …

• Institutionalize the U.S.-Pacific Islands Investment Summit….

• Support Humanitarian Efforts as Reasonably as Possible. …

The Department of State should:

• Publish an Annual Pacific Islands Fact Sheet. …

If there is a change of party in the winter of 2029, we should all hope that the incoming administration takes this effort and builds on it. If the executive branch remains in (R) hands, then I hope they do the same.

Anyway, give the backgrounder a full read.

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