Joseph Cella served as U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, and Tuvalu from 2019 to 2021. He's the founder and principal of the Pontifex Group and founder of the National Catholic prayer breakfast.
Federal Newswire
Can you explain the process of becoming an Ambassador?
Joseph Cella
In the 2016 election I was conferring with friends. We were going to raise some campaign support for then-candidate Donald Trump targeting Catholics in the Rust Belt states, a core group that voted for him in 2016. One of them said, “Let's talk in a couple of days.” It turns out he was having a meeting with then-candidate Trump and a couple of the members of leadership of the new campaign regime at the time. We connected the next day and he said, “Hey, I think you need to run the Catholic outreach campaign for the Trump campaign.”
My wife was pregnant at the time with baby number 6 and all hands are on deck in those situations. So I said, “Well why don't you have somebody more prominent, and I can be the behind the scenes guy,” and he said, “No, I think you need to do it.” So that's what happened.
On day one, inauguration day, I was asked [if I could] go into the West Wing. I was not [ready], I just wanted them to win and get back to life on our dirt road with our Victorian farm and kids. I was told to be ready because you'll probably be offered an ambassadorship, and it never crossed my mind. The possibility of public service [was always a possibility] but nothing definitive, and this brought it to the forefront, and things unfolded from there.
Federal Newswire
How did you determine your particular posting?
Joseph Cella
You are actually requested to submit several options of countries where you can go and serve. I was given I think three days [so I talked with my wife] and prayed about it. [For me it] was where I can lead and serve our country to have the greatest impact…My strengths to my core of who I am and guides what I do is my faith and my family. Fiji is a devout Judeo-Christian-rooted republic and has a larger than average family size, and [there is] no better way to build bridges and connect with civil society than that. That indeed is what happened in very rich and memorable ways that I'll treasure for the rest of my life.
Federal Newswire
What were the main issues for the U.S.?
Joseph Cella
On final approach to my confirmation and heading out to post, two significant things happened. Two island nations flipped their recognition from Taipei to Beijing–the nations of Vanuatu and Solomon Islands, about three months before I took the oath.
[China is] on the hunt for those beachheads to conduct malign influence, and run around with the diplomatic checkbook to further their chess pieces in the Indo-Pacific theater. [You] always have to cast a wary eye on what that involves.
Federal Newswire
How does the CCP influence that part of the world?
Joseph Cella
On my Day One arrival from the airport, driving by the US Embassy for the first time, I saw this towering red and white radio antenna next door [that] shouldn't be there. I immediately thought, what's that thing? I knew that China had a very strong relationship with the then-regime of the Prime Minister, who's no longer Prime Minister.
The second thing I saw was a 400-foot white Chinese ship with four massive satellite arrays on its deck for missile and satellite tracking and ship surveillance. At the end of the day, arriving at the residence I looked out, and straight ahead of it was this high-rise almost at eye level in downtown Fiji. I asked the driver what that was and he said, “Sir, that's a Chinese project that's gone bad,” but–again–a textbook overwatch site.
It became publicly known that the staff of the CCP embassy would lurk in the bushes and take photos of people. They would have a 9 p.m. curfew.
There were a couple of incidents later in my time. When Taiwan National Day happened, [China] staff defense attaches were ordered to crash it and grab the Taiwanese flag off the cake. They failed. My former counterpart, Chen Bo, ordered them back in and fists flew, glasses were broken, people were sent to the hospital.
They never got through, but that gives you the idea of the raw wolf-warrior diplomacy afoot with the PRC and CCP. Chen Bo is now the liaison to all of the Pacific Islands, and you see his work manifest.
I've been writing since my return on the various threats, ranging from the importance of restoring extended COFA funding after the compacts were renewed, and that we should be very wary. We have to scale our game and engagements in that region.
Federal Newswire
Why do these island nations matter to the United States?
Joseph Cella
Kiribati, which also flipped ahead of my arrival to Beijing, is not too far from Nauru with the Ronald Reagan missile defense battery at the Kwajalein atoll–and Indopacific Command is not too far. China plants their flags with diplomatic recognition of these countries. Many of them have deepwater ports where they could advance their naval assets, as well as runways long enough where they could land their PLA Air Force assets. That upsets the defense scheme and scenarios.
There are several island chains that emanate from the South China Sea. You really never want them to get behind you in the scenario where there is a hot war, God forbid. But you live by the maxim of “si vis pacem para bellum”: if you seek peace prepare for war. We always have to keep a very sharp eye on this. I think that there are many opportunities that are cost effective and diplomatic engagements that could have been engaged.
I just recently wrote about this. Admiral Mike Studeman gave a great magnum opus talk about a year ago where he stated that the China problem is more gargantuan than can be appreciated or understood, very sobering.
Federal Newswire
What were the realities of working with key allies there?
Joseph Cella
It was the greatest of memories that I had working with our Five Eyes partners. I'm not going to name names here, but one of them said in my first consultation phone call, “it's so important that you're here.” It was really an opportunity to assess operations. The embassy tightened things up, scaled, and executed the one hundred day plan that I had devised.
The pandemic allowed a pivot moment to link arms with them and be very disciplined, intentional.
Their Navy’s are closer than ours and can get across the ocean more quickly than ours. It can be a little bit of a dance. I think there's some friendly competition there.
Federal Newswire
What can the U.S do through investments, partnerships, and technology to be successful in the region?
Joseph Cella
I think the embassy in Suva could probably stand to have a headquarter or junior headquarter for USAID, through which much of our aid goes to these countries. I think that should happen in short order. These are easy opportunities that have worked time immemorial.
I think the Peace Corps is key. We've had people there. We've pulled them out, but I think that some waivers ought to be given where some sensitivities and awareness to medevac arrangements should they be needed. That way they can do their good work in the remotest of these nations, whether it's Nauru or Kiribati, where we are still blessed to have relations, though they've they've tipped to Beijing now.
The civic action teams that my great former ambassador colleague John Hennessy Nyland did had great effect in Palau, one of the compact states. We have multi-branch service members coming in, building things, and training people. Then we leave behind schools or hospitals, but also the technical skills. I think those approaches are very easy to scale.
Also we could have more than one idea with respect to Tuvalu, the next one to watch. The runway in Funafuti had 25 Mitchell bombers flying off doing missions. But, after nearly 80 years, there's no drainage, and it's a very low-lying atoll. It would take some tiling to run that water off the perimeter of the runway and out. If it closes down again, that impacts the flow of goods, transport of people and medicine,, and tourism to other nations.
Relatively low cost, easily done, and wins hearts and minds. That's just for starters in terms of options that could be executed.
Federal Newswire
Where can people follow your work?
Joseph Cella
I'm always writing on things involving the China problem and threat in the Indo-Pacific but recently I engaged about a year ago with my former ambassador colleague Peter Hookstra on the subnational threat of China in the states and we’re engaged here in Michigan. Our Twitter page is Michigan-China Economic and Security Review Group, @MCESRG. Our work is on display there tracking and targeting the China problem and the threat that is evident in Michigan.
We've been successful but the fight continues.
