Three Pacific ambassadors recalled by the U.S. Department of State

Three Biden-era United States ambassadors to the Pacific have been sacked.

The US State Department has recalled the ambassadors to Papua New Guinea, Fiji, and the Marshall Islands, who alongside 27 other ambassadors from around the world will end their terms in January of next year.

Ambassador to PNG, Ann Marie Yastishock, also represents the US in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Marie Damour the US ambassador to Fiji likewise is also the US representative in Kiribati, Tonga, Nauru and Tuvalu.

Yastishock and Ambassador Laura Stone in the Marshall Islands, who has also been recalled, both assumed their posts in 2024, while Damour began in 2022.

The American Foreign Service Association, a union for diplomats, told RNZ Pacific that they have gathered the names of several foreign service personnel world-wide from sources within the State Department.

"We are working with partners to confirm names one by one through direct contacts. That process is slow and incomplete by definition. Anyone claiming a comprehensive or definitive list is overstating what's known," a spokesperson said.

It means that more diplomatic staff in the Pacific could be recalled, or replaced.

"Those affected report being notified abruptly, typically by phone, with no explanation provided. That method is highly irregular... Career diplomats and ambassadors are not typically recalled in this manner."

AFSA said the behaviour is highly irregular, and reflects a "pattern of institutional sabotage and politicization" mirroring other actions by the Trump Administration.

Alan Tidwell, Director of the Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies at Georgetown University, told RNZ Pacific that any implications for security in the region are yet to be seen.

"If one ignores the broader move to replace 30 ambassadors around the world and focuses exclusively on the Pacific, one could argue that PNG, Fiji and RMI play an important role in the continued US military build-up in the Pacific," he said.

"Perhaps, and I am only speculating, the Trump people want to send a message by replacing these Biden-era personnel with people who are more 'defence' oriented. (sic)"

Trump's new diplomatic appointees will have to be confirmed by the Senate next year.

It comes while Jared Novelly, Trump's nominee to be the Ambassador for New Zealand, Niue, the Cook Islands and Samoa, still awaits Senate confirmation. This is despite being nominated 11 months ago.

The US Embassy in New Zealand has been approached for comment.