Will’s Word: Will Winston speak up in Washington?

The Pacific is still waiting while the United States decides whether it still cares.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters insists he's had frank and open discussions about US aid to the Pacific region.

If you didn't know, he's in Washington and today he's due to meet with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio but has already met with a number of US officials.

Here's the real question: Will he stand up for the Pacific region or will he wait for Washington to tell him what's what?

Now US aid, and there's no other way of putting this, is absolutely crucial for Pacific nations, something the Trump administration has decided to reassess as he's hell-bent on trying to find cost savings for the United States.

Aid cuts or delays are more, at least to me, than a few missed projects.

It means island nations struggling to grapple with climate change, poor infrastructure, bad resourcing, and also leaving the door wide open for China to swoop in and take that spot.

Every day of uncertainty is a day Pacific nations are ultimately left vulnerable to economic instability and, there's no other way of putting this, geopolitical predators.

Yet Peters appears to be playing the role of the patient messenger, taking notes ultimately to deliver back to the Government like some courier.

Listen to Will’s Word below.

He won't tell us exactly what America wants yet, he won't even hint whether he's willing to push back.

So, will Peters be making it crystal clear to the United States that their dithering is doing more harm than good?

The Pacific, in fact the region, deserves certainty, not suspense.

So what will it be, Winston? Will you tell the Trump administration, more specifically the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, today the hard truth: that its aid is not a bargaining chip?

US aid to the Pacific totalled US$3.4 billion from 2008 to 2022, mostly to the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Palau, according to the Lowy Institute. Photo /PMN News/Mary Afemata

Or will you tiptoe around Washington? Peters doesn't strike me as the guy to tiptoe - very strong in his language here on the domestic front, is he the same overseas?

We shall see how it all plays out today.

That's Will's Word.