Palau president expects China to try to interfere in election

TOKYO, June 10, 2024 (Straits Times) — The Pacific island nation of Palau expects China to try to interfere in national elections later this year over its recognition of Taiwan, its president, Surangel Whipps Jr, said in an interview in Tokyo.

Whipps said his support for Palau’s recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state made him an “enemy” in China’s eyes, adding that China “would probably want to remove me and install someone else who would be more friendly to these proposals.”

“I think the Chinese are involved in every election,” he added during a visit to Tokyo, where Japan is set to host a meeting of Pacific island leaders in a month.

Palau is one of 12 countries that still recognize Taiwan, and the Pacific island nation of Nauru restored relations with China days after Taiwan’s presidential election in January.

Washington and Beijing are vying for influence in the Pacific as China strengthens its military presence in the region.

To bolster its capabilities in the region, the United States has begun developing an over-the-horizon radar system and has discussed permanently deploying the U.S. Patriot missile defense system in Palau.

“The United States has said we do not believe that there is a threat at this time … If there was a threat, of course they would be responsible for our security. They would deploy those systems,” Whipps said of potential Patriot systems, without elaborating.

Whipps also confirmed that the Palau government suffered a cyberattack in March and blamed China for the incident, which resulted in about 20,000 documents being stolen and leaked onto the dark web.

He met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last Tuesday, according to a statement from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the two leaders confirmed deepening their maritime security cooperation… PACNEWS

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