Washington and its allies have only recently woken up to the challenge, with US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Japanese foreign Minister Taro Kono making unprecedented visits to the region, taking checkbooks with them.

Japan wants to “increase the support of countries in the region for a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” Mr Kono said, as he wrapped up the four Nations swing that also took on Fiji.

Mr Pompeo’s funding announcement came two weeks after China deposited US$2 million (S$2.77 million) into Micronesia’s trust fund – a fund the US said only the previous week was unlikely to produce sufficient interest to maintain the Micronesian government’s financial stability.