China's latest 'great friendship' in the Pacific is giving the US a strategic headache

Noel Celis/Pool via REUTERS As US financial support expires in 2023, Beijing could use lucrative development deals to "loosen the screws" on the US's regional alliances. An independence vote in Micronesia's Chuuk state in March could raise the stakes, potentially allowing China access to strategically vital waters. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In China earlier this month, David Panuelo, the president of the Federated States of Micronesia, climbed the Badaling section of th...