Senior members of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said runways, ports and other PRC-funded facilities are often “dual use” and part of a broader strategic pattern that combines economic investments with long-term security objectives.
“If you see a broader trend of militarization of the region… you see a lot of activity that suggests there are at least some security and military interests involved,” said committee chairman Randall Schriver. “Even if it is declared for civilian use, by its nature it is dual-use and could be used for military purposes.”
CHINA INFILTRATES THE KEY PACIFIC TERRITORY OF MICRONESIA WITH INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, AS THE US PURSUE FOR ACTION
Representatives of a Chinese company hold a banner during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Woleai track project in Yap state in May 2025. (Cleo Paskal)
Schriver warned that Chinese investments in the Pacific should not be viewed in isolation. “We know that China is very ambitious. We know that even civilian infrastructure projects often come with strings attached,” he said. “In many cases it concerns access for the Chinese military.”
Commission Vice President Michael Kuiken said Beijing often links infrastructure financing to financial leverage. “There is a cycle of debt diplomacy here,” Kuiken said. “China loads these islands with debt and then uses their weak position to gain access… to build runways, to do things related to ports.”
“It’s a cycle we see again and again,” he added, calling it “a flywheel of debt diplomacy. There’s a vicious cycle of rinse and repeat here. And whether it’s Taiwan, Palau, Micronesia or the Solomon Islands, it’s a playbook the Chinese go back to every time.”
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Image shows an LRAD being tested in Guam, December 2025. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist Seaman Angel Campbell)
The American response came too slowly, the committee says
Schriver acknowledged that Washington was slow to recognize the security implications of Chinese expansion in the region.
“In a word, yes,” he said when asked whether the US was too slow to respond.
He noted that the timing coincided with major U.S. military investments in Guam, even as Chinese projects were progressing nearby. “While this was happening, the Chinese were pushing into the Pacific islands…with great proximity to Guam,” he said, describing the island as central to U.S. logistics and combat operations.
When asked what would signal a shift from civilian infrastructure to operational military use, Schriver said some warning indicators are already visible.
Chinese workers work on a construction site. June 22, 2005. (Claro Cortes IV CC/CCK/Reuters)
“The practice of cutting submarine cables… has been very provocative,” he said, describing it as an activity that could be related to military contingencies.
He also warned that visible deployment of Chinese military aircraft to facilities in the Pacific would mark a major escalation, citing a pattern previously observed in the South China Sea.
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The airstrip at Woleai in Yap State, part of a Chinese-backed infrastructure project in the Federated States of Micronesia. (Cleo Paskal)
“We’ve seen a certain pattern that wouldn’t surprise us at all if we saw it in other parts of Oceania,” Schriver said.
Kuiken called on lawmakers to increase control and transparency. “The one thing that is easiest for members to do is simply ask the intelligence community for images and intelligence reports… raise the alarm, shine a light on it and expose the activities,” he said.
Kuiken also revealed a future hearing focused on subsea infrastructure and security risks in the region.
“Data is the lifeblood of the global economy today,” he said. “Those cables are a vital source of information… and those are really quite aggressive actions that need to be exposed.”
Policy recommendations and next steps
The committee has proposed a broader U.S. response, including increased cooperation with the Coast Guard and expanded support to Pacific island nations to strengthen resilience against security threats and economic pressures.
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Palau, an island in the Philippine Sea, North Pacific Ocean, October 6, 2015. (iStock)
Schriver referred to a recommendation from the “Pacific Island Security Initiative,” aimed at combining economic, law enforcement and defense engagement.
Kuiken described the approach as ‘a layered cake’. “We want there to be a civilian component… a law enforcement component… and a military component,” he said. “You have to do all of them to really be effective and really combat the influence of the Chinese in this space.”
