Capitol Hill dysfunction threatens US-Pacific pacts

Legislative dysfunction on Capitol Hill is fueling doubts among U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific about Washington’s commitment to deterring China in the region’s strategic waterways and archipelagos, according to correspondence seen by Semafor.

The governments of three island nations — the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands — all renewed last year their formal partnership-agreements with the U.S., known as Compacts of Free Association (COFA). These provide the Pentagon with expansive regional military and logistics bases and rights in exchange for...