Relationship dossier
Federated States of Micronesia
United States
Relationship assessment
A close partnership built around the Compact of Free Association
Federated States of Micronesia toward United States
+85The FSM participates in the Compact of Free Association, maintains close security ties with the United States, and cooperates with it on regional security matters. FSM citizens also benefit from Compact provisions granting access to live and work in the United States.
United States toward Federated States of Micronesia
+90The United States provides economic assistance to the FSM under the Compact of Free Association and assumes responsibility for its defense. Compact provisions also grant FSM citizens rights to live and work in the United States, while the two governments coordinate on security.
Overall relationship
+90The Compact of Free Association establishes a durable, close, but asymmetric partnership, combining substantial U.S. economic support and defense responsibilities with FSM security cooperation and migration rights for FSM citizens. Periodic negotiations over Compact funding and implementation are a recurring feature of the relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
The Federated States of Micronesia and the United States maintain a close relationship shaped by the Compact of Free Association. The United States provides substantial economic assistance and assumes responsibility for the FSM’s defense, while FSM citizens have rights to live and work in the United States and FSM authorities cooperate with the United States on regional security. These arrangements create a durable partnership, though the relationship is asymmetric and subject to periodic negotiation over funding and implementation.
Areas of tension
- Periodic negotiations over Compact funding and implementation.
Key developments
The Compact of Free Association between the FSM and the United States entered into force, establishing economic assistance, U.S. defense responsibilities, and migration rights for FSM citizens.
Amended Compact provisions entered into force, renewing and revising the economic relationship between the two governments.
The United States and the FSM signed agreements renewing Compact economic assistance and related arrangements.
Major uncertainties
- The effects of recent Compact funding arrangements and their implementation over time remain uncertain.
- The scope and practical application of security cooperation beyond the Compact are not fully clear.