Los Angeles Times - 06.08.2019

LATIMES.COM TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019A

THE WORLD

PALIKIR, Micronesia —
On the last stop Monday of a
three-nation tour aimed at
reasserting U.S. influence in
the Asia-Pacific region, Sec-
retary of State Michael R.
Pompeo gained widely ex-
pected assurances that the
remote, tropical islands of
Micronesia would remain on
America’s side in the stand-
off with China.
But Pompeo emerged
empty-handed a day earlier
in Sydney after seeking Aus-
tralia’s support in shielding
international cargo ships
that traverse the crucial
Strait of Hormuz from pos-
sible Iranian intervention as
part of Washington’s esca-
lating conflict with Tehran.
Australia hesitated in part
out of concern about alienat-
ing its other key allies, in-
cluding China.
On the island of Pohnpei,
part of the Federated States
of Micronesia, Pompeo
urged officials to resist Chi-
na’s influence as Beijing at-
tempts to “redraw” the Pa-
cific in its “authoritarian im-
age.”
Though it was only for a
few hours, Pompeo became
the first sitting American
secretary of State to visit Mi-
cronesia, a grouping of hun-
dreds of islands in the west-
ern Pacific.
Pompeo’s trip focused on
what the administration is
branding the Indo-Pacific, a
vast part of the globe the
U.S. once dominated but
where it has lost ground to
Chinese economic and mili-
tary expansion. He held two
days of talks with Southeast
Asian leaders in Bangkok,
Thailand, and, joined by new
U.S. Secretary of Defense
Mark Esper, another round
with Australia’s government
in Sydney.
The complexity of Pom-
peo’s mission was evident
early on. He seemed to pull
his punches, publicly at
least, in criticizing China
during the annual confer-
ence of the Assn. of South-
east Asian Nations, in
Bangkok — where his Chi-
nese counterpart, Wang Yi,

was also in attendance.

Many of the countries have

robust ties with China.

In Sydney, Australian of-

ficials said they were giving

serious consideration to the

U.S. request, but they point-

edly said no decision had

been made.

That hesitancy reflected

Australian concern that

an overly close active mili-

tary relationship with the

U.S. could alienate a largely

pacifist domestic public

and disgruntle allies like

China.

It was also another sign

of the difficulties the Trump

administration is having in

marshaling international

forces against Iran ever

since President Trump

walked away from a nuclear

containment agreement

with Tehran that continues

to be supported by Europe,

Russia, China and the

United Nations.

France, Germany and

Japan have all said they will

not dispatch warships to

join the U.S. effort in the

Strait of Hormuz, a vital

waterway for transport of

Middle Eastern crude to the

West and parts of Asia, and

where tensions have soared

after a series of explosions

on tankers that the U.S.

blamed on Iran. The Islamic

Republic denied involve-

ment in those attacks, but

did claim to have shot down

a U.S. drone it said violated

its airspace.

Pompeo bristled when a

reporter suggested the re-

sponse to the U.S. request

has been lukewarm, cau-

tioning against believing

“everything that’s reported

in the press.”

“I am very confident that

we will have a global coali-

tion that ... reduces the risk

of conflict in the region and

enables the freedom of navi-

gation,” Pompeo said at a

brief news conference in

Sydney on Sunday. “There’s

lots of conversations tak-

ing place amongst the na-

tions.”

Standing alongside Pom-

peo and Esper, Australian

Defense Minister Linda

Reynolds said the Ameri-

cans’ “complex” request for

Australian participation in

escorting ships in the strait

would be given “very serious

consideration,” but she

would not endorse it.

“We are deeply concerned

by the heightened tensions

in the region. And we

strongly condemn the at-

tacks on shipping in the Gulf

of Oman,” she said. “But we

will ultimately, as we always

do, decide what is in our own

sovereign interests.”

It was a different story in

Micronesia. Here in Pohn-

pei, Pompeo could not have

asked for more effusive sup-

port. His criticism of China

was the strongest it had

been during the entire trip,

as were the reassurances he

received.

“Your small islands are

big strongholds of freedom,”

Pompeo said. Referring to

China, he added: “We will op-

pose any larger nation’s at-

tempts to turn the Pacific is-

lands into footholds for re-

gional dominance.”

David Panuelo, president

of the Federated States of

Micronesia, said, “Our rela-

tionship with the United

States is first and foremost,”

asserting that dealings with

China were “purely econo-

mic and technical co-

operation. I want to make

that clear.”

He was echoed by Mar-

shall Islands President

Hilda Heine and the vice

president of Palau, Raynold

Oilouch, who joined the

meetings in Palikir. The

three tiny nations have a

long history with the United

States, which administered

the islands after World War

II until 1986 when they

gained independence.

The Compact of Free As-

sociation continues to gov-

ern the U.S. relationship

with the islands, including

$100 million in aid annually,

water rights conventions

and other cooperation. Mar-

shall Islands was the site of

dozens of nuclear tests con-

ducted during the Cold War,

and radiation continues to

plague the Bikini Atoll.

One of Pompeo’s activ-

ities here was laying a

wreath at a memorial for Mi-

cronesian citizens killed

fighting with U.S. forces in

Iraq and Afghanistan.

“U.S. commitment to this

region is truly unparalleled,”

Pompeo said.

Underscoring the point,

the U.S. just this month ap-

pointed its first communica-

tions officer to its embassy

here, and Pompeo an-

nounced plans to negotiate

parts of the compact that

were expiring.

Pompeo, his wife, Susan,

who traveled with him, and

his entourage were greeted

by dozens of “chanters” in

traditional dress who

danced and sang greetings

and bestowed each of the

Americans with a mwar

mwar, a local version of a flo-

ral lei.

His motorcade drove

over hilly, narrow roadways

lined by thick, lush tropical

forest, palm trees, banana

plants and thatched roof

huts. Mist hung low over

parts of the canopy, inter-

rupted for a time by what

is described here as daily

rain.

Micronesian officials

have long complained of

degradation from climate

change, as rising sea levels

erode coastlines, threaten

the lifeline industry of fish-

ing, contaminate drinking

water with salty ocean water

and trigger ever fiercer

storms.

Pompeo was less forceful

in expressing concern for the

climate change that Micro-

nesians say is eating away

their coasts. Yet when

asked, he did acknowledge

the serious problem, some-

thing that the administra-

tion has been less willing to

do.

Trump has described cli-

mate change as a hoax, dis-

puted basic science on the

role human activity contrib-

utes and withdrew the

United States from the land-

mark Paris climate accord,

making the United States

one of only a handful of coun-

tries that are not participa-

ting.

Micronesia reaffirms its support for U.S.

SECRETARYof State Michael R. Pompeo meets U.S. Embassy staff members at the Pohnpei airport in Mi-

cronesia on the last stop of his three-nation tour aimed at reasserting American influence in the region.

Jonathan ErnstPool Photo

Tropical island nation

says it will stay on

America’s side in the

China standoff.

By Tracy Wilkinson

‘We will oppose

any larger nation’s

attempts to turn

the Pacific islands

into footholds

for regional

dominance.’

— Michael R.

Pompeo,

U.S. secretary of State

NEW DELHI — Tension
built for 10 days in a Himala-
yan valley that is as scenic as
it is turbulent.
In rugged Kashmir, India
sent in thousands more
troops without an official ex-
planation. Authorities can-
celed a famed Hindu pil-
grimage. Police trolled lakes
and guesthouses to evacu-
ate tourists. Schools were
closed, phone and internet
connections shut down, and
residents sheltered in their
homes.
Then, on Monday, with
most Kashmiris unable to
follow the news, the Indian
government announced a
historic constitutional
change, revoking the limited
autonomy held for decades
by its only Muslim-majority
territory.
The move to withdraw
Kashmir’s special legal stat-
us fulfills a long-standing
goal of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s Hindu na-
tionalist party to yoke the
disputed northern territory
more closely to the rest of In-
dia.
It also appears certain to
heighten tensions with rival
Pakistan — which also
claims Kashmir — and trig-
ger a violent backlash
among separatist insur-
gents and civilians bitterly
opposed to Indian rule.
“Today marks the dark-
est day in Indian democ-
racy,” Kashmiri political

leader Mehbooba Mufti

tweeted, calling the change

“illegal and unconstitu-

tional.”

Modi’s top lieutenant,

Home Minister Amit Shah,

announced the presidential

decree in Parliament, draw-

ing angry outbursts from op-

position members who ar-

gued the move violated the

constitution and denied

Kashmiris the right to self-

determination promised to

them for more than 70 years.

The decree, once ap-

proved by a legislature

dominated by members of

Modi’s party, will cancel Ar-

ticle 370 of the Indian Consti-

tution, which grants the ter-

ritory the right to its own

constitution and bars out-

siders from buying land,

holding government jobs

and receiving educational

scholarships.

Removing those restric-

tions could pave the way for

Hindu settlers to move into

the area — a rugged land-

scape of snow-frosted

mountains and rippling ap-

ple orchards — to dilute the

Muslim population. Critics

drew comparisons to Israel’s

promotion of Jewish settle-

ment in Palestinian terri-

tories.

“This latest move is only

an attempt by the Indian

state to try and change the

demography of Kashmir

such that it ceases being a

conflict,” said Mudasir

Amin, a Kashmir-based re-

searcher.

The special protections

date to the earliest days of

India’s independence in 1947,

when the new nation sought

to bring the territory under

New Delhi’s authority. Paki-

stan, which rules another

portion of Kashmir, has

gone to war with India twice

over the region in the last

seven decades.

Pakistan’s government

said it “strongly condemns”

India’s effort to change

Kashmir’s status unilater-

ally, arguing that the bilat-

eral dispute was a matter for

the United Nations Security

Council. In India, the legality

of the presidential order was

not immediately clear, and

challenges to the move will

almost certainly go to the

country’s Supreme Court.

For supporters of Modi,

who won a sweeping reelec-

tion victory in May but has

been buffeted in recent

weeks by reports of a slowing

economy, the announce-

ment sparked jubilation.

“What a glorious day,” the

national general secretary of

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata

Party, Ram Madhav,

tweeted. In the hours after

the announcement, #Kash-

mirHamaraHai, or “Kash-

mir Is Ours,” trended on In-

dian social media.

As part of the announce-

ment, India said it was reor-

ganizing the state known as

Jammu and Kashmir, an

85,000-square-mile territory

bordered by Pakistan to the

west and China to the east.

The state includes the dis-

puted, 6,100-square-mile

Kashmir Valley, home to 5.

million people.

Under the reorganiza-

tion, the state would be

downgraded to a union terri-

tory, giving New Delhi far

greater control over its af-

fairs, including authority

over the local police.

The largest part of the

state, the sparsely popu-

lated region of Ladakh,

would be carved into a sepa-

rate union territory, a move

likely to be welcomed by the

area’s residents, most of

whom are Hindu or Bud-

dhist.

Indian-ruled Kashmir

had been on edge for days,

starting when New Delhi

sent thousands of additional

paramilitary troops to the

Kashmir Valley — already

one of the most heavily mili-

tarized zones in the world —

without any formal explana-

tion.

Local authorities then

abruptly canceled the annu-

al Amarnath Yatra, a Hindu

pilgrimage to a remote cave

in the Himalayan foothills,

and ordered non-Kashmiris

and tourists to leave im-

mediately because of “the

prevailing security situation

in the Kashmir Valley.”

The unusual move fueled

speculation that the govern-

ment was about to an-

nounce a decision on the

state’s special status. Many

of Kashmir’s residents

stocked up on supplies and

medicines.

On midnight Monday,

the communications lock-

down went into effect and lo-

cal authorities passed or-

ders restricting people’s

movement. Two former chief

ministers of the state —

Mufti and Omar Abdullah —

as well as politician Sajjad

Lone were placed under

house arrest.

Tariq Ahmad, who leads

houseboat tours on Dal

Lake in the main city of Sri-

nagar, said police officers

approached him Friday

morning and asked his Indi-

an guests to leave immedi-

ately.

“It was an absolute

panic,” Ahmad said. “Never

in the years of turmoil in

Kashmir have tourists been

forcibly evicted like this.”

Hours later, after the an-

nouncement in Parliament,

it remained unclear whether

many Kashmiris had

learned of the decision. Ex-

perts expected large public

protests despite the security

presence, and said Pakistan

could foment further vi-

olence by firing artillery

shells across the border and

supporting attacks by mili-

tants.

“Within the Kashmir Val-

ley, there will be opposition

leading to heightened and

prolonged unrest, including

increased activities of the

terrorist groups,” said

Sameer Patil, a security ana-

lyst with Gateway House, an

Indian think tank.

The U.S. Embassy in New

Delhi said U.S. citizens in the

state “are strongly advised

to leave as soon as possible

and to exercise great cau-

tion until they depart.”

Special correspondent

Iqbal reported from New

Delhi and Times staff writer

Bengali from Singapore.

Special correspondent

Aoun Sahi in Islamabad,

Pakistan, contributed to

this report.

India revokes Kashmir’s decades-long autonomy

INDIAN SOLDIERS stand guard in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and

Kashmir state. India recently sent thousands of additional troops to the region.

Dar YasinAssociated Press

Large protests are

expected in the

disputed territory.

Pakistan condemns

move by New Delhi.

By Shashank Bengali
and Zaffar Iqbal