This week the United States released its Indo Pacific Strategy very clearly outlining its concern with the rising influence of China in the region and emphasising the need for a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific".
The release coincided with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's Pacific tour which involved several days in Australia and stopovers in Fiji and Hawaii meeting with quad partners and Pacific Islands leaders.
The stopover in Fiji was brief but long enough for Pacific leaders to raise some questions about the depth of US engagement in the region, the acting prime minister of Fiji Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum in particular saying it felt like they were just flyover countries.
Joining me to talk about some of these issues is Massey University security studies senior lecturer Anna Powles.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) attends a meeting with Fijian acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum (R) in Nadi, Fiji, on February 12, 2022. Photo: Leon LORD / AFP)
