US announces more than $340 million in Caribbean aid amid concern over Chinese influence
CARICOM chairman Phillip Pierre says the value of the commitments will be shown by what follows, while Antigua's Gaston Browne says China is easier to access.
WASHINGTON, United States. The Trump administration on October 15 announced aid and financial commitments worth more than $340 million for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), following a meeting of regional leaders in Washington earlier this month.
Several heads of state and government met Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau amid mounting concern in Washington about China's growing influence and its funding of major projects across the 15-member bloc.
The meeting came weeks after Landau visited Guyana and Trinidad, where he unveiled plans for American private investment in projects including bauxite mining in Guyana for the defence industry and steel production in Trinidad.
The package
The package includes $61.5 million for a regional healthcare project, $37 million to improve security capacity, $55 million to strengthen law enforcement, $11 million in US military financing, and $175.8 million for digital infrastructure through a new undersea cable linking several countries.
"For far too long, we have been looking at things that are happening halfway across the world, and we have been ignoring things that are happening right in our own neighbourhood," Landau told leaders and foreign ministers.
Region wants follow-through
St Lucia's Prime Minister Phillip Pierre, the current CARICOM chairman, said the value of the meeting and the level of US commitment would be shown by what follows.
"Let us connect political dialogue with sustained technical engagement, identify priorities and establish clear arrangements for follow-up," he said.
Bahamas hospital dispute
In The Bahamas, officials and the US are at odds over Chinese funding for a 200-bed hospital. Beijing, through its Exim Bank, is providing $197 million, or 73 per cent of the cost, to the annoyance of US Ambassador Herschel Walker, who suggested American contractors would do a better job.
"China has every right to be here," Walker told the Nassau Guardian, but added that Nassau is about 150 nautical miles from the US and China about 6,000, "so shouldn't we be a little bit closer?"
Antigua and Barbuda's Prime Minister Gaston Browne said on his weekly radio programme that China is easier to access.
"I can't even get a call from President Trump, but I can get a meeting with President Xi," he said. "China is the nation's most important development partner."
