FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Tonga,
by a further modification of its treaty of friendship with the
United Kingdom in July 1970, is responsible for its own external
affairs. It maintains cordial relations with most countries and
has close relations with its Pacific neighbors. In 1998, it recognized
China and broke relations with Taiwan.
In 1972, Tonga laid claim to the tide-washed, isolated Minerva Reefs, some 480 kilometers southwest of Nuku'alofa, to forestall efforts by a private Anglo-American group to establish an independent Republic of Minerva on the reefs. The reefs are regularly patrolled by the Tonga Defense Services.
DEFENSE
The Tonga Defense Service (TDS) is a 450-person force. The force is comprised of a headquarters platoon and a light infantry company. A coastal naval unit of four small patrol boats and amphibious landing craft operates as a component of the TDS. The force's mission is to assist in maintenance of public order, to patrol coastal waters and fishing zones, and to engage in civic action and national development projects. The main base of operations is the capital, Nuku'alofa.
The TDS is partially supported by defense cooperation agreements with both Australia and New Zealand, which support the TDS with small in-country detachments of military technicians. The United States military provides training to the TDS and conducts humanitarian civic action projects in Tonga. Since 2002, TDS soldiers have been deployed as part of a multi-national regional peacekeeping force in the Solomon Islands. Tonga's third contingent of TDS soldiers deployed to Iraq departed for Baghdad in February 2008. Since the November 2006 riots, TDS have had authority to maintain law and order and assist the police within a declared restricted area of Nuku'alofa.
U.S.-TONGA
RELATIONS
The United States and Tonga enjoy close cooperation on a range of international issues. Officers of the American Embassy in Suva, Fiji, are concurrently accredited to Tonga and make periodic visits since the United States has no permanent consular or diplomatic offices in Tonga. Peace Corps Volunteers teach and provide technical assistance to Tongans. Tonga has no embassy in Washington, DC, but has a permanent representative to the United Nations in New York who also is accredited as ambassador to the United States. A large number of Tongans reside in the United States, particularly in Utah, California, and Hawaii.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Larry M. Dinger
Deputy Chief of Mission--Ted Mann
Political/Economic/Commercial Affairs--Brian J. Siler
Consul--Debra J. Towry
Management Officer--Ila Jurisson
The U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji is located at 31 Loftus Street (P.O. Box 218), Suva (tel. (679) 331-4466, fax (679) 330-2267).
