Report Contents
(U) What OIG Inspected
(U) OIG inspected executive direction, policy and program implementation, resource management, and information management operations at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
(U) What OIG Recommends
(U) OIG made 7 recommendations to the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. (U) In its comments on the draft report, the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs concurred with all 7 recommendations. OIG considers all 7 recommendations resolved. The bureau’s response to each recommendation, and OIG’s reply, can be found in the Recommendations section of this report. The bureau’s formal response is reprinted in its entirety in Appendix B.
(U) What OIG Found
- (U) The Acting Assistant Secretary and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs modeled the Department of State’s leadership and management principles.
- (U) Stakeholders in the Department and interagency community praised the bureau’s execution of foreign policy, noting staff understood their roles related to, and successfully conducted, foreign policy.
- (U) The bureau was reestablishing its role in North Korea regional diplomacy implementation.
- (U) The lack of delegated authority to manage the U.S.-Taiwan relationship impeded the bureau’s policy work to coordinate the United States’ relationship with Taiwan.
- (U) The bureau’s geographic and regional policy offices developed effective interdepartmental and interagency relationships in support of its overseas missions.
- (U) The bureau took steps to address structural and personnel shortfalls in its Office of Chinese and Mongolian Affairs, including implementation of the “China House” proposal, China Activities Prioritization Project, Regional China Officers program, and use of the Countering Chinese Influence Fund to counter Chinese disinformation.
- (U) Inefficient organizational structures, staffing constraints, large numbers of temporary staff with associated frequent turnover, and increasing workloads hindered operations in some offices.
Report Terms
Report Recommendations
The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs should review its Joint Regional Strategy in accordance with Department guidelines.
The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs should conduct annual evaluations of the bureau’s programs, projects, and processes in accordance with Department guidelines.
The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, in coordination with the Bureau of Global Talent Management, should conduct an organizational assessment to align its organizational structure with bureau operational needs and Department requirements.
The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs should differentiate the functions of the Offices of Multilateral Affairs and Regional Security Policy in accordance with Department guidance.
The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs should manage its Federal assistance awards and interagency agreements in accordance with Department and bureau standards.
The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs should review and de-obligate all invalid unliquidated obligations without activity for more than 1 year, in accordance with Department guidance, so funds of up to $2.7 million can be put to better use.
The Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs should develop and implement procedures to retire records in accordance with Department standards.