The administration of President Donald Trump has sanctioned two Pacific island leaders on corruption charges, accusing both of giving China an opening to increase its influence in the region.
The U.S. State Department on Tuesday issued a notice accusing Palau Senate President Hockons Baules and former Marshall Islands Mayor Anderson Givas of engaging in “serious corruption.”
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According to the statement, he and his family will no longer be allowed to enter the United States.
“The Trump Administration will not tolerate foreign officials stealing from American taxpayers or threatening American interests,” State Department spokesman Tommy Piggott said on social media.
The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics Law Enforcement (INL) also expressed support for the sanctions.
“Corruption that undermines American interests will have serious consequences.”
In both cases, the United States acknowledged that the actions of politicians allowed China to expand its interests in the Pacific region.
The State Department alleged that Mr. Baules accepted bribes in exchange for supporting Chinese interests in Palau. Palau is an island in Micronesia and the 16th smallest country in the world.
“His actions amounted to gross corruption and had a negative impact on U.S. interests in Palau,” the U.S. said in a statement.
Zivas, meanwhile, is accused of “orchestrating and financially benefiting from” a scheme to misuse the Bikini Resettlement Trust, a U.S.-backed fund designed to compensate people adversely affected by nuclear bomb tests on Bikini Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands.
The trust was worth nearly $59 million in 2017, when the first Trump administration decided to transfer control of major resettlement funds to local governments and give up auditing powers.
Since then, the fund has been rapidly emptied. As of February 2023, the trust has plummeted to just $100,000, and payments to Bikini Atoll survivors and descendants have ceased.
Critics have criticized Jibas, who was elected in 2016 as head of Kili, Bikini and Ejito islands. He called for greater local autonomy for the Fund.
But reports in the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets accused him of diverting the funds to vacations, trips and purchases such as a new pickup truck.
In Tuesday’s announcement, the State Department linked Mr. Zivas’ alleged abuse to two key issues on President Trump’s platform: China’s growing power in the Pacific and increased immigration to the United States.
“The theft, misuse, and abuse of funds provided by the United States to the fund wasted American taxpayer money and contributed to job loss, food insecurity, and immigration to the United States,” the department said.
“The lack of accountability for Mr. Zivas’ corrupt practices undermines public confidence in the Marshall Islands government and creates opportunities for malign foreign influence, including from China.”
Palau and the Marshall Islands are both U.S. territories, occupied during World War II and granted independence in the late 20th century.
Both countries remain part of the Treaty of Free Association with the United States, which allows the North American superpower to continue military operations in the region and control the region’s defenses.
These are also part of the list of countries that maintain diplomatic relations with the Taiwanese government, much to the ire of the People’s Republic of China.
Only about a dozen remain, most of them concentrated in Central America, the Caribbean, or the Pacific Islands.
However, China was trying to pressure these small countries to sever ties with Taiwan and instead recognize their governments in Beijing.
The Asian superpower, often seen as a rival to the United States, is also seeking to expand its sphere of influence in the South Pacific by forging trade ties and challenging U.S. military authority in the region.
Mr. Baules, for example, is one of the local politicians who has advocated recognizing the Beijing government rather than the Taipei government, and has been a vocal advocate of stronger ties with China.
This shift in opinion has placed island states such as Palau and the Marshall Islands in the middle of a geopolitical tug-of-war as the United States struggles with China to maintain its dominance in the region.
Elsewhere in the world, the United States has also used sanctions to deter local officials from seeking closer ties with China.
For example, Panama’s President José Raul Mulino accused the US embassy in Panama of threatening to revoke the visas of local staff amid a dispute between the US and China over influence over the Panama Canal.
There have been similar reports in neighboring Costa Rica, where officials including Rep. Vanessa Castro and former President Oscar Arias have accused the United States of revoking their visas because of their ties to China.
But in recent years, other points of tension have also existed between the Pacific Islands and the United States.
The Trump administration has withdrawn from agreements aimed at curbing climate change, canceling international efforts to reduce emissions and straining relations with islands vulnerable to rising sea levels.
Still, the U.S. State Department on Tuesday framed the sanctions as an effort to ensure local accountability and protect U.S. interests in the region.
“The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain and steal from our people to line their own pockets.”
“These designations reaffirm the United States’ commitment to combating global corruption that affects American interests.”
