NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n FIRST ON FOX:<\/strong> Chinese-funded infrastructure projects across the Pacific Islands may appear civilian on the surface but could provide future military access for Beijing, senior members of a bipartisan congressional advisory commission warned in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n Senior members of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said runways, ports and other facilities financed by the People\u2019s Republic of China are often “dual use” and part of a broader strategic pattern that blends economic investment with long-term security objectives.<\/p>\n “When you see a broader trend of militarization of the region\u2026 you see a lot of activities that suggest there are at least some security and military-related interests involved,” commission chair Randall Schriver said. “Even if it\u2019s declared for civilian use\u2026 it is by its very character dual-use and could be used for military purposes.”<\/p>\n CHINA INFILTRATES KEY PACIFIC TERRITORY OF MICRONESIA WITH INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AS US URGED TO ACT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Representatives of a Chinese company hold a banner during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Woleai runway project in Yap State in May, 2025.<\/span> (Cleo Paskal)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Schriver warned that China\u2019s investments in the Pacific should not be viewed in isolation. “We know that China is very ambitious. We know that even civilian infrastructure projects often have strings attached,” he said. “In many instances, those involve access for the Chinese military.”<\/p>\n Commission Vice Chair Michael Kuiken said Beijing frequently pairs infrastructure financing<\/a> with financial leverage. “There\u2019s a cycle of debt diplomacy here,” Kuiken said. “China loads these islands up with debt and then uses their position of weakness to gain access\u2026 to build runways, to do things with respect to ports.”<\/p>\n “It\u2019s a cycle that we see over and over again,” he added, calling it “a flywheel of debt diplomacy. There\u2019s a vicious rinse-and-repeat cycle here. And whether it\u2019s Taiwan, Palau, Micronesia or the Solomon Islands, it is a playbook that the Chinese go back to every time.”<\/p>\n CHINA\u2019S GLOBAL AGGRESSION CHECK: TAIWAN TENSIONS, MILITARY POSTURING, AND US RESPONSE IN 2025<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Image shows an LRAD being tested in Guam, December 2025.<\/span> (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Angel Campbell)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Schriver acknowledged Washington was slow to recognize the security implications<\/a> of China\u2019s expansion in the region.<\/p>\n “In a word, yes,” he said when asked whether the U.S. reacted too slowly.<\/p>\n He noted the timing coincided with major U.S. military investments in Guam<\/a>, even as Chinese projects advanced nearby. “While this was happening, the Chinese were making inroads in the Pacific Islands\u2026 with great proximity to Guam,” he said, describing the island as central to U.S. logistics and combat operations.<\/p>\n Asked what would signal a shift from civilian infrastructure to operational military use, Schriver said some warning indicators are already visible.<\/p>\n Chinese laborers work at a construction site. June 22, 2005.<\/span> (Claro Cortes IV CC\/CCK\/Reuters)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “The practice of undersea cable cutting\u2026 has been very provocative,” he said, describing it as activity that could be tied to military contingencies.<\/p>\n He also warned that visible deployments of Chinese military aircraft to Pacific facilities would mark a major escalation, citing a pattern previously seen in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n US TURNS TO FINLAND TO CLOSE ARCTIC \u2018ICEBREAKER GAP\u2019 AS RUSSIA, CHINA EXPAND POLAR PRESENCE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The runway at Woleai in Yap State, part of a Chinese-backed infrastructure project in the Federated States of Micronesia.<\/span> (Cleo Paskal)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “We\u2019ve seen a particular pattern that wouldn\u2019t surprise us at all to see in other parts of Oceania,” Schriver said.<\/p>\n Kuiken urged lawmakers to increase scrutiny and transparency. “The thing members can do most easily is just ask the intelligence community for imagery and for intelligence reports\u2026 raise the alarm, shine a light on it and expose the activities,” he said.<\/p>\n Kuiken also revealed a future hearing<\/a> focused on undersea infrastructure and security risks in the region.<\/p>\n “Data is the lifeblood of the global economy these days,” he said. “Those cables are a vital source of information\u2026 and those are really quite aggressive actions and need to be exposed.”<\/p>\n The commission has proposed a broader U.S. response, including increased Coast Guard cooperation<\/a> and expanded support for Pacific Island nations to strengthen resilience against security threats and economic pressure.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Palau, an island in the Philippine Sea, Northern Pacific Ocean, Oct. 6, 2015.<\/span> (iStock)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Schriver referenced a “Pacific Island Security Initiative” recommendation aimed at combining economic, law enforcement and defense engagement.<\/p>\n Kuiken described the approach as “a layered cake.” “We want there to be a civilian aspect\u2026 a law enforcement piece\u2026 and a military piece<\/a>,” he said. “You sort of need to do all of them in order to really be effective and really to combat the influence of the Chinese in this space.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1200\/675\/groundbreaking-woleai-26-may-2025-banner13.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nUS response came too slowly, commission says<\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\nPolicy recommendations and next steps<\/h3>\n
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