Foreign ministers from the United States, Japan and other U.S. allies and partners on Thursday gathered to enhance ties with the Pacific island nations amid China's growing influence in the region. The meeting was the first among top diplomats from the countries of the Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative, which was launched in June also with the participation of Britain, Australia and New Zealand. "We're deeply committed to the Pacific," said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the meeting's host, at the outset of the talks in New York on the fringes of the U.N. General Assembly. He we...
