U.S. to launch multilateral initiative to engage with Pacific islands

The United States plans to launch an initiative next week to step up engagement with the Pacific islands by working with like-minded countries, White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said Thursday, amid growing concerns over China's increasing clout in the region.The initiative is intended to ensure that the United States, along with other countries including Australia, Britain, France, Japan and New Zealand, can push for the Pacific environment to remain "open" and "free from coercion," he told an online event hosted by the Center for a New American Security, a Washington-based…READ FULL ARTICLE