Kaya
Selby, RNZ Pacific Journalist
Three
Biden-era United States ambassadors to the Pacific have been
sacked.
The US State Department has recalled the
ambassadors to Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Marshall
Islands, who alongside 27 other ambassadors from around the
world will end their terms in January of next
year.
Ambassador to PNG, Ann Marie Yastishock, also
represents the US in the Solomon Islands and
Vanuatu.
Marie Damour the US ambassador to Fiji
likewise is also the US representative in Kiribati, Tonga,
Nauru and Tuvalu.
Yastishock and Ambassador Laura
Stone in the Marshall Islands, who has also been recalled,
both assumed their posts in 2024, while Damour began in
2022.
The American Foreign Service Association, a
union for diplomats, told RNZ Pacific that they have
gathered the names of several foreign service personnel
world-wide from sources within the State
Department.
“We are working with partners to confirm
names one by one through direct contacts. That process is
slow and incomplete by definition. Anyone claiming a
comprehensive or definitive list is overstating what’s
known,” a spokesperson said.
It means that more
diplomatic staff in the Pacific could be recalled, or
replaced.
“Those affected report being notified
abruptly, typically by phone, with no explanation provided.
That method is highly irregular… Career diplomats and
ambassadors are not typically recalled in this
manner.”
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AFSA said the behaviour is highly irregular,
and reflects a “pattern of institutional sabotage and
politicization” mirroring other actions by the Trump
Administration.
Alan Tidwell, Director of the Center
for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at
Georgetown University, told RNZ Pacific that any
implications for security in the region are yet to be
seen.
“If one ignores the broader move to replace 30
ambassadors around the world and focuses exclusively on the
Pacific, one could argue that PNG, Fiji and RMI play an
important role in the continued US military build-up in the
Pacific,” he said.
“Perhaps, and I am only
speculating, the Trump people want to send a message by
replacing these Biden-era personnel with people who are more
‘defence’ oriented. (sic)”
Trump’s new diplomatic
appointees will have to be confirmed by the Senate next
year.
It comes while Jared Novelly, Trump’s nominee to
be the Ambassador for New Zealand, Niue, the Cook Islands
and Samoa, still awaits Senate confirmation. This is despite
being nominated 11 months ago.
The US Embassy in New
Zealand has been approached for
comment.
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