The Chinese government has condemned AUKUS as reflecting a “Cold War mentality”, involving a “path of error and danger”, and as a threat to both “regional peace” and the “international nuclear nonproliferation regime”.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a\u00a0task force has been formed<\/a>\u00a0in the US House of Representatives to combat what the US regards as the rising influence of China in the US territories and Freely Associated States in the Pacific.<\/p>\n “US renewed engagement in the South Pacific will be really positive, it will be positive for the economies of those countries,” said Anja Manuel, a former US diplomat and executive director of Aspen Security Forum.<\/p>\n “It will be positive for the environment, so for whatever the reasons and the background, I think it’s a great initiative and it’s long overdue,” Manuel said.<\/p>\n Anja Manuel\u00a0<\/span>Photo:\u00a0Aspen Security Forum<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The first major move by the US into the Pacific region occurred in July last year, when Vice President Kamala Harris made a\u00a0virtual address to leaders of the Pacific Islands<\/a>\u00a0meeting in Fiji. Harris announced plans for greater engagement.<\/p>\n It was well received by the leaders, with Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama welcoming the announcement.<\/p>\n “I think it’s clear to see that the US is certainly looking more like the Pacific partner that we have traditionally held it to be,” he said.<\/p>\n![\"Anja](\"https:\/\/rnz-ressh.cloudinary.com\/image\/upload\/s--SUDnp_3y--\/c_crop,h_179,w_250,x_0,y_12\/c_scale,h_179,w_250\/c_scale,f_auto,q_auto,w_288\/v1689718465\/4P1L8ZF_MicrosoftTeams_image_1_png\")