US looks to the Pacific Islands as it keeps a wary eye on China

US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Niue’s premier Dalton Tagelagi shaking hands during a signing ceremony establishing diplomatic relations at the US department of state in Washington, DC on September 25th, 2023. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP The United States this week formally recognised Niue as an independent state. Yes, I had to look up the details about the island. Niue is tiny. It covers just over 1,000 square miles and has a population of about 1,500. It has no military but it is of strategic importance as an island in the Pacific Ocean. And after decades of effective neglect, territories…