The US State Department has submitted to Congress a plan to close missions in five different countries as part of a move to reduce its global diplomatic presence. According to Reuters, the planned closures include consulates and embassy branches in Nagoya, Japan; Winnipeg, Canada; Medan, Indonesia; St. George's, Grenada; and Douala, Cameroon.
These closures stand out as a rare instance of simultaneously reducing multiple overseas missions without being tied to a specific geopolitical crisis. The plan is seen as a continuation of a strategy initiated during the early days of the Trump administration, aimed at cutting costs under the "America First" policy.
At that time, the White House Office of Management and Budget had floated a broader plan to close up to 30 missions. Some administration officials privately expressed that small diplomatic outposts were unnecessary and did not justify their costs.
However, Democrats and former foreign policy and national security officials warn of the dangerous consequences of this step. According to them, the reduction in US diplomatic presence, combined with the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), could weaken Washington's global position and create a power vacuum that China and Russia would fill.
The State Department, in response to a request for comment on August 1, did not confirm the closure plans. The department stated that it is focused on keeping the diplomatic presence effective and efficient and that it will comply with congressional notification procedures.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, defends the spending cuts as a necessary step to align the department's size with its duties. Many conservatives view the State Department as a bloated and overly bureaucratic entity.
Interestingly, during the Biden administration, the US opened new overseas missions in the Pacific region, where it competes with China for influence. While China does not have diplomatic missions in Douala and Winnipeg, it has representatives in St. George's, Nagoya, and Medan.
