Hillary Clinton's South Pacific trip aimed at curbing China's influence

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is set to make a rare foray to the South Pacific this week, in a move analysts say is aimed at curbing China's growing influence among the region's small island nations.

While previous trips to the area by Clinton have focused on Canberra and Wellington, this time she is expected to visit the Cook Islands, a nation of just 11,000 people whose 15 islands cover an area barely larger than Washington DC.

The reason is to attend a regional summit hosted by the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), a group consisting mainly of small island states, along with resource-rich Papua New Guinea and the dominant regional powers Australia and New Zealand, both US allies.

The impoverished, strategically unimportant island states dropped off Washington's radar many years ago, former New Zealand diplomat Michael Powles said, as China cultivated diplomatic ties through aid and bilateral deals.

"The US has suddenly started doing a lot more in the Pacific after quite a long time of doing the absolute minimal amount, whereas over the last few years China has been pretty active," Powles said.

Annmaree O'Keeffe, a Pacific specialist at Australia-based think tank the Lowy Institute, said Washington's renewed focus on the island states was part of a broader move towards the Asia-Pacific region.