The United States and Vanuatu established diplomatic relations on September 30, 1986 - three months to the day after Vanuatu had established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Relations were often tense in the 1980s, under the prime ministership of Father Walter Lini in Vanuatu, but eased after that. At present, bilateral relations consist primarily in US aid to Vanuatu, and are cordial. 1980s Early relations and tensions Vanuatu obtained independence from France and the United Kingdom in 1980, and, under the leadership of Prime Minister Walter Lini, set out to establish its own foreign policy as a newly independent State. Lini, an Anglican pastor, forged the doctrine of Melanesian socialism, and based his government's foreign policy on non-alignment and on support for independence movements around the world - from faraway Western Sahara to neighbouring New Caledonia. Vanuatu in the 1980s was unique in Oceania in that it resisted alignment with the Western bloc in the dying stages of the Cold War. The country joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 1983 and established official diplomatic relations with Cuba (1983) and the Soviet Union (June 1986) before doing the same with the United States (September 1986). Vanuatu maintained cordial relations with countries in both East and West. In 1986, Vanuatu condemned the 1986 bombing of Libya by the United States. Lini wrote to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to express his condolences, notably at the death of Gaddafi's 15-month-old daughter, and his dismay that "innocent lives have been taken by the bombs of a superpower". Barak Sopé added that "the United States were wrong, they behaved as terrorists and aggressors", and that "the CIA is involved in all sorts of similar activities. In Nicaragua, the Americans are supporting terrorists." These statements marked the lowest point in U.S.–ni-Vanuatu relations. In January 1987, Prime Minister Walter Lini and Foreign Affairs Minister Sela Molisa visited Washington, D.C. Lini had been scheduled to meet President Ronald Reagan, but was struck down by cerebral hemorrhage shortly after arriving in the United States. Instead, Molisa met U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz. The two men primarily discussed Soviet–ni-Vanuatu relations, which were of concern to the U.S. government, and sought to build friendship between the United States and Vanuatu. Shultz declared that the meeting had been "cordial", while Molisa praised his knowledge of Pacific issues. In April, Vanuatu authorised U.S. vessels to fish in the ni-Vanuatu Exclusive Economic Zone, alongside Soviet