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EXCLUSIVE ON FOX: Investments by China in infrastructure across the Pacific Islands may seem purely civilian at first glance, but they potentially pave the way for future military use by Beijing. This concern was highlighted by senior officials of a bipartisan congressional advisory commission in an exclusive dialogue with Fox News Digital.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission members raised alarms about runways, ports, and other facilities funded by the People’s Republic of China. They noted these projects are frequently designed for “dual use,” serving both economic development and potential military purposes as part of a strategic long-term plan.
“Observing the broader trend towards militarization in the region, it’s clear there are activities indicating security and military interests,” stated commission chair Randall Schriver. “Even if such projects are officially labeled for civilian purposes, their inherent nature suggests they could be adapted for military use.”
Representatives from a Chinese enterprise display a banner at the groundbreaking event for the Woleai runway project in Yap State, scheduled for May 2025. (Cleo Paskal)
Schriver emphasized that China’s Pacific investments shouldn’t be assessed in isolation. “China harbors significant ambitions, and even seemingly civilian projects often come with underlying conditions,” he noted. “In numerous cases, these conditions relate to securing military access for China.”
Commission Vice Chair Michael Kuiken said Beijing frequently pairs infrastructure financing with financial leverage. “There’s a cycle of debt diplomacy here,” Kuiken said. “China loads these islands up with debt and then uses their position of weakness to gain access… to build runways, to do things with respect to ports.”
“It’s a cycle that we see over and over again,” he added, calling it “a flywheel of debt diplomacy. There’s a vicious rinse-and-repeat cycle here. And whether it’s Taiwan, Palau, Micronesia or the Solomon Islands, it is a playbook that the Chinese go back to every time.”
Image shows an LRAD being tested in Guam, December 2025. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Angel Campbell)
US response came too slowly, commission says
Schriver acknowledged Washington was slow to recognize the security implications of China’s expansion in the region.
“In a word, yes,” he said when asked whether the U.S. reacted too slowly.
He noted the timing coincided with major U.S. military investments in Guam, even as Chinese projects advanced nearby. “While this was happening, the Chinese were making inroads in the Pacific Islands… with great proximity to Guam,” he said, describing the island as central to U.S. logistics and combat operations.
Asked what would signal a shift from civilian infrastructure to operational military use, Schriver said some warning indicators are already visible.
Chinese laborers work at a construction site. June 22, 2005. (Claro Cortes IV CC/CCK/Reuters)
“The practice of undersea cable cutting… has been very provocative,” he said, describing it as activity that could be tied to military contingencies.
He also warned that visible deployments of Chinese military aircraft to Pacific facilities would mark a major escalation, citing a pattern previously seen in the South China Sea.
The runway at Woleai in Yap State, part of a Chinese-backed infrastructure project in the Federated States of Micronesia. (Cleo Paskal)
“We’ve seen a particular pattern that wouldn’t surprise us at all to see in other parts of Oceania,” Schriver said.
Kuiken urged lawmakers to increase scrutiny and transparency. “The thing members can do most easily is just ask the intelligence community for imagery and for intelligence reports… raise the alarm, shine a light on it and expose the activities,” he said.
Kuiken also revealed a future hearing focused on undersea infrastructure and security risks in the region.
“Data is the lifeblood of the global economy these days,” he said. “Those cables are a vital source of information… and those are really quite aggressive actions and need to be exposed.”
Policy recommendations and next steps
The commission has proposed a broader U.S. response, including increased Coast Guard cooperation and expanded support for Pacific Island nations to strengthen resilience against security threats and economic pressure.
Palau, an island in the Philippine Sea, Northern Pacific Ocean, Oct. 6, 2015. (iStock)
Schriver referenced a “Pacific Island Security Initiative” recommendation aimed at combining economic, law enforcement and defense engagement.
Kuiken described the approach as “a layered cake.” “We want there to be a civilian aspect… a law enforcement piece… and a military piece,” he said. “You sort of need to do all of them in order to really be effective and really to combat the influence of the Chinese in this space.”