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Downtown Koror, the largest city in Palau.
photo: New Zealand Pacific Radio
Palau President Soulanger Whipps claimed China was “weaponizing tourism” to try to get the country to sever ties with Taiwan.
Whipps said Beijing told him that if he gave up ties with Taipei, “the future would be limitless.”
“At the end of the day, we have a relationship with Taiwan and, of course, China has publicly told us that that relationship is illegal and that we should not recognise Taiwan,” he told a news conference Wednesday alongside New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters, who is travelling in the North Pacific this week.
The Solomon Islands and Kiribati broke away from Taiwan and joined China in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Nauru became the latest Pacific island nation to join China’s alliance in January this year.
Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are left with only three allies in the Pacific.
Whipps said Red Dragon was pressuring Palau to do the same.
More than half of Palau’s GDP comes from tourism, and Whipps said China has been reducing the number of tourists visiting Palau.
“I think recently in the Chinese news it was said that Palau was an unsafe place and you shouldn’t travel there, this was earlier this summer.”
Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. exchanges gifts with New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. August 14, 2024
photo: RNZ Pacific/Caleb Fotheringham
Palau was also unable to attend the annual Pacific Asia Travel Association summit in Macau earlier this year due to “no diplomatic relations with China”.
Earlier this year, Anna Powles, associate professor at Massey University’s Centre for Defence and Security Studies describe “China’s increased pressure” is “effectively undermining Taiwan’s offensive among its diplomatic allies in the region.”
“We have values”
Whipps said Taiwan has increased the number of flights to support Palau’s tourism industry.
“China has said, ‘With us, everything is possible.’ We can give you everything you need. We need economic development, but at the same time we have values, we have partnerships, and we cherish our relationship with Taiwan.
“We have made it clear that we are their friends and no one can say we cannot be their friends.
“Certainly, because of that, we’re seeing different things happening… the weaponization of tourism… is a reality that we face.”
Peters said this was not the first time he had heard of growing pressure from the Asian superpower.
But when asked, he would not say whether he was concerned about the situation.
A New Zealand Defence Force Boeing 757 landed in Palau, the final stop on Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ North Pacific tour and the 14th Pacific Islands Forum country he is visiting.
photo: RNZ Pacific/Caleb Fotheringham
Palau, along with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, has a so-called Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States.
The United States provides economic aid to these three countries, and in return it obtains military access and control.
The latest batch of bills were briefly stalled in their passage but were ultimately signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden in March.
The three countries said in a letter to the U.S. Senate before the bill was passed that the delay “results in undesirable opportunities for economic exploitation by competing political actors in the Pacific.”
Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine said she had been nervous for a while but so far everything was going well.
“Funds have been flowing as per the agreement, and we are still working through some issues with federal programs and services, but overall the agreement is being fully implemented,” she said this week.
Palau is the last stop of Peters’ North Pacific tour and the 14th country of the Pacific Islands Forum.
The Deputy Prime Minister plans to visit all 17 countries of the Forum, but has yet to visit Kiribati, New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
Peters said he should visit all of them by mid-October.
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