U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is embarking on a plan to deepen its commitment to health care needs in Micronesia by assisting with workforce and infrastructure development over the long term — rather than just dropping in periodically with short-term ship visits or deployments.

Rear Adm. Louis Tripoli, the command surgeon for Indo-Pacific Command, said Friday that the “greater needs” are in the Compacts of Free Association states of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.

“They’ve come to us asking for help in (the health care) realm, and they’ve brought their suggestions for this and we’re designing the program to meet those needs,” Tripoli said.

China’s growing investment in the island nations of Oceania has prompted renewed interest by the United States in the stepping stones that were key to U.S. victory against Japan in World War II, and are still vital as a defensive bulwark and logistics chain across the vast Western Pacific region.

The University of Hawaii and its health care assets are considered a key partner in the startup of the plan, which will include a roundtable discussion at UH in August involving the military, the U.S. Agency for International Development and others.

“We’re at the beginning of this journey,” Tripoli said.

The Compacts of Free Association, which are up for renewal in 2023 and 2024, provide for U.S. defense of the islands and exclusive military use rights.

Tripoli said there are “a lot of really good, really dedicated health care workers out in the island nations … but there aren’t enough, and workplace development is an issue.”

Another need is in infrastructure and the ability to keep health institutions up and running, he said.

“We’re looking at a lot of sources of funding for this. We don’t have specific funding yet,” Tripoli said. He added, however, that in the evolving environment, “resources are becoming available.”

The U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in a 2018 report that China had “significantly bolstered” its economic ties with Pacific islands.

In the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory near Guam, Chinese investors’ casino resort developments were seen as a possible complicating factor for extensive U.S. military training and exercises in the islands.

The USNS Brunswick, part of Pacific Partnership, the Defense Department’s largest annual humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission, stopped in Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia for two weeks in April.

U.S. Army Pacific in April sent its largest contingent of soldiers to Palau in 37 years. About 150 soldiers deployed for weeklong training that included security cooperation and community outreach.

The short-duration visits are beneficial, Tripoli said, but sustainability is a key issue. “What comes next is the issue that we need to really work on,” he said.