To counter China, the U.S. State Department wants to ensure Indo-Pacific partners have reliable internet and access to “accurate” news coverage. “
“Everywhere we are present, we are actively engaged in the local media sphere and through our own public diplomacy, making sure that other messages are conveyed to China there. So our country, our partners in the region have choices and ownership Accurate information,” Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Krittenbrink, of the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday.
The State Department has developed programs to increase partners’ “access to trusted newswires and more, [Associated Press] He said, “To reduce the dependence of island countries on Chinese news agencies such as Xinhua News Agency.”
Michael Schiffer, assistant administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Asia Bureau, said the US Agency for International Development (USAID) is going a step further and sponsoring journalism projects in the region as part of expanding its influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
“We are also very active in working with colleagues at the State Department to support free and independent press in the region, including through a number of journalism fellowships, particularly for journalists interested in natural resource management, as this addresses the corruption and governance issues we face amount,” Schiffer said.
In recent years, the U.S. government has been expanding its influence in the Indo-Pacific region as part of a larger strategy to compete with China, including providing economic, military and defense support to promote technological innovation.
To bolster media efforts, the State Department is also working to ensure Pacific nations have reliable internet connectivity.
“We have also recently entered into a digital connectivity partnership with the University of the South Pacific, which allows us to enter the digital space in a more forward-thinking way, responding to the requests we are getting from our partners to provide them with the digital connectivity they need. Services that can control their own information destiny,” Schiffer said.
Additionally, in Palau, USAID is working with Australia and Japan to develop “undersea cable spurs” to “increase reliable, secure, and reliable Internet bandwidth to stimulate economic growth.”
Last year, the United States and Australia pledged $65 million to help Pacific island nations build future undersea cable connections.
“We fully recognize that our partners in the Pacific are sovereign and they can and should make their own choices. Our role is to support them in this process,” Schiffer said. “In the Pacific, we see that the People’s Republic of China is violating many of the rules and norms that the international community has set for its own benefit, and this is having a negative impact on the work that we do.”
These include increased Chinese investment in the telecommunications industry, which has spurred competition with the United States. But Schiffer said the U.S. State Department is concerned that reliance on China Telecom could “make the country vulnerable to cybersecurity risks and other national security issues.”