US boosts anti-China Pacific push with embassy in Vanuatu

By MATTHEW LEE
AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration says it will open an embassy in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in its latest move to blunt China’s increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific. The new embassy in Port Vila will be the fifth that the U.S. has either opened or announced it will build in the region over the past three years. In addition to Vanuatu, the Biden administration has opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands, and has announced plans for embassies in the Maldives, Kiribiti and Tonga. The administration has also moved to shore up existing close ties with other Pacific nations.