As the United States seeks to shore up alliances and maintain regional stability amid increasing Chinese competition in the Pacific, it needs to mend strained relations with the island states that are its closest partners. The U.S. government
describes Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands as "the bedrock of the U.S. role in the Pacific" and "
crucial" to U.S. defense there. After months of delay that have undermined those relationships, the United States
this month renewed the funding that underpins their government budgets. But significant bilateral strains will require further U.S. attention.