SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you, President
Panuelo and President Heine, and Vice President Oilouch.
Thank you for the positive, productive meetings
today. It is the case, when we flew in, it
was absolutely beautiful, and for anyone watching, this is a great place just to
come visit. All of them, not just here, but
the Marshall Islands as well as Palau. I
would encourage everyone to come, bring your family, spend money, and you will be
– you will love to meet the wonderful people of these great friends of the United
States.
President Panuelo, I’m deeply honored to be the first Secretary of State to
ever visit your wonderful country. There’s
no clearer statement of America’s commitment to strong partnerships and alliances
than showing up in person, so it’s a real honor for me to be here today. As I have been traveling in the region, as I conveyed
at the ASEAN meetings in Bangkok, the United States of America’s commitment to this
region is truly unparalleled. We want to
help nations of the Indo-Pacific continue their decades-long rise and maintain their
sovereignty, both in the political and economic spheres. With that in mind, I was pleased to meet today
with each of these three presidents – from the Marshall Islands, from Micronesia
– and the vice president of Palau. Your small
islands are big strongholds of freedom.
You’ve supported our campaigns of pressure and diplomacy with North Korea,
and you vote with the United States at the United Nations as consistently as our
dear friends Australia or the United Kingdom.
And importantly, your citizens serve in the
United States military at per capita rates higher than most U.S. states. This is a real sacrifice, and something which
the American people are most grateful to you and your citizens for. And importantly too, you share our vision for
an open and free Indo-Pacific, the basic ideas of sovereignty, the rule of law,
transparency, and openness – unalienable rights. These are the building blocks that are a recipe
for sustainable economic prosperity and human flourishing.
With that solid foundation in place, today our countries were able to build
on the progress made at the White House this past May when you met with President
Trump. That visit, like this one, was unprecedented
on the day our four nations declared our unique, historic, and special relationships,
and we resolved to continue our close cooperation. And so today, I am
here to reaffirm the United States will help you protect your sovereignty, your
security, your right to live in freedom and peace. Just as we did during World War II, we will oppose
any larger nation’s attempt to turn the Pacific Islands into footholds for regional
dominance.
Beyond defense and security, the United States will continue to offer assistance with natural disasters and will continue
to help you build strong societies by supporting the Young Pacific Leaders initiative. And we’ll join with you to tackle health challenges
too. We talked about that at some length. We’ll help keep your
economies competitive and strengthen your democratic institutions.
And finally, we’re taking concrete action to solidify
our bonds. Today, I’m pleased to announce
that the United States has begun negotiations on extending
our respective compacts of free association with each country. These compacts help sustain the important strategic
partnerships that the Freely Associated States have had with the United States since
World War II. They sustain important economic
assistance for the people of these countries.
They sustain democracy and human rights in the
face of Chinese attempts to redraw the Pacific in its authoritarian image. Today, your citizens, this region of the world
can see the Trump administration and its enduring commitment to the Indo-Pacific,
and our appreciation for the strong friendships here. Thank you.
(Applause.)
沒有留言:
張貼留言
請網友務必留下一致且可辨識的稱謂
顧及閱讀舒適性，段與段間請空一行