US to open embassy in Vanuatu as part of anti-China Pacific strategy.

The US plans to open an embassy in Vanuatu, a South Pacific island nation, to deepen relationships with officials and society and boost its diplomatic presence in the Pacific to counter China's growing influence. The US has diplomatic relations with Vanuatu but is currently represented by diplomats based in New Guinea. The US has reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands this year after a 30-year absence, and other US embassies are planned in the Pacific island nations of Kiribati and Tonga. The Biden administration is seeking more than $7 billion over the next two decades for economic assistance to the three countries, funds seen as key to insulating them from growing Chinese influence.