Notes to the New CNO Series

By Jason Lancaster

Despite U.S. and allied development aid contributions dwarfing PRC contributions in the South Pacific, the PRC has made significant regional gains in influence. PRC competition means the region can no longer be treated as a geostrategic backwater. Its 14 countries are small but their economic exclusion zones cover 20 percent of the earth’s surface, and their locations are strategic geography in the Pacific.

The U.S. Navy has sporadically engaged in sports diplomacy with USNA rugby teams and visiting ships. It should make sports diplomacy more systematic and enduring. The U.S. Navy should invest in regular rugby matches in the South Pacific as part of global competition with the PRC.

The region craves attention that the U.S. has seldom given. No U.S. president has ever visited a Pacific Island country. President Clinton hosted the last Pacific Island Leader, while PRC President Xi Jinping has visited Papua New Guinea and Fiji, and hosted many leaders one-on-one in Beijing. A regular sports diplomacy routine can provide a gateway for key leader engagements by creating high-profile events that earn the broader attention of the South Pacific population. Australia signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea providing $600 million Australian dollars for a National Rugby League (NRL) Expansion team in Port Moresby in 2028. Shortly after the agreement, Papua New Guinea signed defense agreements with Australia, suggesting a confluence of interests and engagements.

Sports diplomacy is a method of building relationships and fostering understanding. Many people in the South Pacific love rugby and it provides an opportunity for the U.S. Navy to engage with Pacific Island communities. U.S. Naval Academy Rugby Teams conducted a Pacific Rugby Diplomacy tour in 2024 and played multiple games in Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. There was no news of a tour in 2025, but there is a valuable opportunity to compete with the PRC for Pacific Island youths. The U.S. could host Pacific Island teams in the U.S., such as for the Australian NRL’s annual Las Vegas Rugby weekend.

U.S. sailors of Pacific Island descent could travel to watch games in the countries of their descent from the stands. This allows U.S. Navy sailors to better engage with locals in the stands. This helps put faces to nations and mesh lifestyles and philosophies. The Royal New Zealand Navy sends sailors of Pacific Island descent to visit those islands for military memorial days like ANZAC Day.

President Trump has demonstrated interest in athletic events, especially the U.S. hosting of Olympic and World Cup events over the next few years. Navy rugby matches with Pacific Island teams are an excellent way to provide the administration with exciting and high-profile opportunities to engage with leaders in countries vital to U.S. interests. The PRC can build stadiums, but does not field competitive rugby teams, while the U.S. Navy does. The Navy can use sports diplomacy to demonstrate presence and benefit U.S. regional interests.

Commander Jason Lancaster is a Surface Warfare Officer. He has served at sea in destroyers, amphibious ships, and a destroyer squadron. Ashore he has served as an instructor at the Surface Warfare Officers School, on the N5 at Commander, Naval Forces Korea, and in OPNAV N5, and is the Operations Officer for the Joint Staff J-7 Joint Deployment Training Center. He holds Masters’ degrees from the National War College and the University of Tulsa and completed his undergraduate work at Mary Washington College.

Featured Image: U.S. Naval Academy rugby players compete against Samoan players during the USNA Rugby Diplomacy Pacific Islands Tour in Samoa. (Photos by U.S. Embassy in Samoa)