Three United States (US) ambassadors to the Pacific under the former Biden administration have been recalled.
It was reported the US State Department has recalled the ambassadors to Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Marshall Islands, who alongside 27 other ambassadors from around the world will end their terms in January of next year.
Ambassador to PNG, Ann Marie Yastishock, also represents the US in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Yastishock visited Solomon Islands in May 2024 and met Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele.
Marie Damour the US ambassador to Fiji likewise is also the US representative in Kiribati, Tonga, Nauru and Tuvalu.
Yastishock and Ambassador Laura Stone in the Marshall Islands, who has also been recalled, both assumed their posts in 2024, while Damour began in 2022.
The American Foreign Service Association, a union for diplomats, told RNZ Pacific that they have gathered the names of several foreign service personnel world-wide from sources within the State Department.
“We are working with partners to confirm names one by one through direct contacts. That process is slow and incomplete by definition. Anyone claiming a comprehensive or definitive list is overstating what’s known,” a spokesperson said.
It means that more diplomatic staff in the Pacific could be recalled, or replaced.
“Those affected report being notified abruptly, typically by phone, with no explanation provided. That method is highly irregular… Career diplomats and ambassadors are not typically recalled in this manner.”
AFSA said the behaviour is highly irregular, and reflects a “pattern of institutional sabotage and politicization” mirroring other actions by the Trump Administration.
