The Foreign Service Journal, January 2007

Finally, Mr. Stringer touches on the number of U.N. votes represent- ed by the nations of the Pacific. The U.S. highly values this fact and, in multilateral fora, does not take the Pacific lightly. The U.S. is proud that support for our positions at the U.N. by Pacific Island states is among the strongest in the world. Moreover, Pacific Island countries pull more than their weight in participating in global and regional peacekeeping and stabilization operations, working along- side the U.S. and/or its allies in such places as the Solomon Islands, East Timor, Iraq, Haiti and Cote d’Ivoire, to name a few. The coup in Fiji, rioting in Tonga, and ongoing troubles in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea all demonstrate that the Pacific is an area that requires our close attention. The assertion that the U.S. has somehow disengaged from Oceania is erro- neous. The reality is that we have remained engaged in the region, and are actively considering new ways to advance our interests in this impor- tant part of the world. Mr. McGann is director of the Office of Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Island Affairs in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 7 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 19 I N R E S P O N S E The U.S. is proud that support for our positions at the U.N. by Pacific Island states is among the strongest in the world.