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Reuters
Reuters
Environment
David Brunnstrom and Michael Martina

With Blinken in Pacific, Marshall Islands says talks on U.S. military access 'stalled'

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a briefing at the State Department in Washington, U.S., January 26, 2022. Brendan Smialowski/Pool via REUTERS

Even as America's top diplomat visits the Pacific region seeking to counter China's growing power and influence, the Washington ambassador of the tiny Marshall Islands said talks aimed at renewing agreements covering access for the U.S. military have stalled.

The envoy, Gerald Zackios, told Reuters there had been no talks on renewing its Compact of Free Association Agreement (COFA) with the United States since the end of the Trump administration in 2020, in spite of the priority the Biden administration has attached to boosting Indo-Pacific engagement.

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