Map of countries in Oceania region with Exclusive Economic Zones outlines (Photo: Foundation for Defense of Democracies/Cleo Paskal and Pavel Patel)
INDO-PACIFIC
Compact Renewals Not Included in National Security Supplemental Bill
On February 4th, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee unveiled the National Security Supplemental Bill, also known as the border, foreign aid bill, to the public. While the bill provided funding for the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine along with new laws for border security, it did not include the compact renewals between the United States, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Marshall Islands, and Palau. The omission of the compact renewals from the recent supplemental budget request is the latest in the series of chances that the United States missed in renewing the agreements.