A local thinktank is flagging concerns on how President Trump’s ever-evolving overhauls may affect Guam and the Micronesia region, from concerns of funding for the Compact impact to consequences of a shutdown of humanitarian agency USAID. Former congressman Dr. Robert Underwood breaks it down. 

The Pacific Center for Island Sustainability is keeping a close watch on how President Trump’s actions may affect Guam and the Micronesian region.  "It’s a very fluid situation here in Washington DC, because the arrival of President Trump has thrown a lot of things in the air, a lot of assumptions about things," said Underwood, formerly Guam's delegate to US Congress.

The PCIS chairman spoke to KUAM after what he calls “interesting panel conversations” at the quincy institute in the capitol. The event titled ‘how the US can build better ties with the pacific islands’ saw over 60 participants. 

Top of mind is the Compact impact, as Underwood said, "Right now, there’s a lot of concern that the agreements that were freely negotiated in the creation of the compacts, the funding will be impeded. The whole kind of upending of federal spending that has been generated by freezing programs is really a source of concern to the Compact states."

PCIS also meeting with a variety of DC-based thinktanks like the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Brookings Institute and the Conservative American Heritage Foundation. 

"One of the things we told people who worked in the think tanks and people who are pretty close to some of the advisors of the Trump administration and people in Congress is that the way you treat the islands, the way you treat the Compacts of Free Association, the way you treat these Freely Associated States is going to be seen as a lesson by other Pacific islands," he said.

The main message and lesson PCIS relayed, as he said, ""We made the point at the Heritage Foundation that the way you treat these islands will be seen as evidence as the way you treat your closest friends."

Plus with Trump’s latest order to shut down the US Agency for International Development, and he said, "We also wanted to tell people that programs provided by USAID, even though USAID are programs that are helpful in health and education, are the extension of so-called soft power not hard power."

Dr. Underwood emphasizes the need for this soft power–or diplomatic initiatives– as they are critical for maintaining good relationships. 

"This is how the US can improve relations. And of course the big one for us, the US has to be larger than just the military. I respect the military but the federal government and the US government are all wearing a uniform in this part of the world. We need more than that kind of relationship. We need a relationship about political development, economic development and health concerns," he said.