Interests in the Southwest Pacific

The major U.S. interests in the Southwest Pacific are preventing the rise of terrorist threats,working with and maintaining the region's U.S. territories, commonwealths, and military bases(American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Reagan Missile Test Site onKwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands), and enhancing U.S.-Australian cooperation in pursuingmutual political, economic, and strategic objectives in the area. As part of its effort topromote regional stability and prevent Pacific island nations from becoming havens for transnationalcrime and terrorism, Australia, along with New Zealand and other Pacific Island nations, hasdeployed troops in East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The Howard Government's support of the United States in the war against terror has broughtthe United States and Australia closer together as Australia invoked the ANZUS alliance in the wakeof the 9/11 attacks to help the United States.
The major U.S. interests in the Southwest Pacific are preventing the rise of terrorist threats,working with and maintaining the region's U.S. territories, commonwealths, and military bases(American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Reagan Missile Test Site onKwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands), and enhancing U.S.-Australian cooperation in pursuingmutual political, economic, and strategic objectives in the area. The United States and Australiashare common interests in countering transnational crime and preventing the infiltration of terroristorganizations in the Southwest Pacific, hedging against the growing influence of China, andpromoting political stability and economic development. The United States has supported Australia'sincreasingly proactive stance and troop deployment in Pacific Island nations torn by political andcivil strife such as East Timor, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Australia may playa greater strategic role in the region as the United States seeks to redeploy its Asia-Pacific forcestructure. This report will be updated as needed.