WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th July, 2023) The US is facing a major shortfall in funding that was requested for diplomatic efforts in the Indo-Pacific region in the Biden administration's bid to counter China, Foreign Policy reported citing a State Department report to Congress.
The documents reveal a $41.3 billion gap between what the Biden administration has provided to the State Department and USAID versus what the agencies requested in order to do their work in the region over the next five years, according to the report.
Diplomats need the money to counter China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region, but they may have to wait, the report added.
Some of the State Department's top priorities include sending arms to Taiwan and opening American diplomatic missions in the Maldives, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and Kiribati, the report said.
