US eyes massive ramp-up in diplomatic personnel and spending at new Pacific island embassies

By MATTHEW LEE
AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says it plans a massive increase in diplomatic personnel and spending for facilities at new U.S. embassies in the Pacific islands as the Biden administration forges ahead with efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the region. In a notice sent to Congress this week, the department said it envisions hiring up to 40 staffers over the next five years for each of four recently opened or soon-to-be opened embassies in the Pacific. Those include an embassy in Honiara, Solomon Islands, that opened in January; an embassy in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, that opened in May and planned embassies in Port Vila, Vanuatu, and in Tarawa, Kiribati.