US maintains military grip over ‘sovereign’ Pacific island states

In exchange, the compact states have conceded several controls to Washington, one of which is what U.S. officials call “strategic denial,” or the authority to prohibit the military forces of other countries from accessing the compact states. Although strategic denial is https://fpif.org/u-s-claims-to-central-pacific-flout-international-law/ with the https://www.un.org/depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm, which provides all countries with the right of innocent passage in territorial waters and freedom of the high seas in exclusive economic zones, U.S. officials have insisted that it is their right to control the seas, land, and airspace of the compact states.

Ironically, the U.S. position contrasts sharply with its insistence, over Chinese protests, that the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard have the right to conduct so-called “https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/freedom-navigation-south-china-sea-practical-guide” in waters claimed by Beijing in the https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=IF10607.