The Pacific island nation of Palau is in need of US help to deter China’s “unwanted activities” around its coasts, Whipps Jr said and repeated his government’s determination to maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Whipps Jr. recently stated that three Chinese boats have made “uninvited” entries into his country’s waters since he took office in 2021, stressing the need for further US backing to enhance deterrence against China’s assertive move in the region.
Palau is one of few countries that has refused to give up diplomatic relations with Taiwan and switch allegiance to China.
Palau, which was under US administration until its independence in 1994, struck up diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1999. The friendship has been strong as Palauans travel to Taiwan for a holiday, education or medical treatment.
But Taiwan’s allies in Africa and Central America are being pressurised to chip away.
Palau which has been dependent on China for tourism and money, is feeling the pressure. Beijing first worked to build up Palau’s dependence on Chinese tourism. In 2008, there were 634 Chinese tourists in Palau, less than one percent of all tourists. By 2015, it was more than 91,000, or around 54 percent.For tiny Palau, where tourism accounts for more than 44 per cent of GDP, this pressure came in the form of what the locals call the “China ban”. In 2017, China told Palau that unless it switched from Taiwan to China, the tourists would not return. In November 2017, the Chinese government ordered tour operators to stop selling package tours to Palau, with reports that doing so could lead to fines. But Palau refused to succumb to Chinese pressure. But it was not easy, especially after Covid added a second hit, hitting the service sector hard. Now, the Chinese are inching back in, perhaps in preparation to gain influence before next year’s elections.Palau President, Surangel Whipps Jr. conceded that one of the biggest challenges is combatting the influence of Chinese in Palau. China is the largest direct investor in Palau. It is a challenge to try to not open up direct flights from China back to Palau. While Palau has been approaching countries like Japan, Korea and Taiwan for promotion of tourism, Beijing has been exerting pressure to open up direct flights to Macau and Hong Kong. President Whipps has been working tirelessly to get tourists to visit Palau without much success. He however conceded that efforts are underway to get direct investment from countries other than China as that would stop China from pressurising it.
China has always used dollar diplomacy and tourism to pressurise small and financially poor countries to have its way. In order to isolate Taiwan, it has gone to any extent to achieve the purpose.