‘Respect our sovereignty,’ Palau tells China ahead of Taiwanese president’s Pacific tour

President Surangel Whipps Jr. on Monday urged China to respect Palau’s sovereignty and international law, just days ahead of a contentious visit by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te. 

Lai is visiting Palau, along with the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu – three of Taipei’s 12 remaining diplomatic allies – as part of a Pacific tour that has triggered fierce criticism in Beijing. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be reunited, by force if necessary. 

Whipps said Lai’s visit would cement a strong 25-year relationship that will continue growing despite China’s opposition.

“One of the things that China needs to understand is that they should respect our sovereignty and our decision to choose who our friends are,” he told BenarNews in an interview on Monday. “I think if you want to be a partner with Palau, a friend of Palau, you don’t do it by force.”

China’s government has courted Pacific island nations for the past two decades as it seeks to isolate Taipei’s allies, gain influence in international institutions and challenge U.S. dominance.

Palau’s refusal to abandon Taiwan has led to what Whipps described as “unfriendly behavior” from China.

Whipps has accused the Chinese government of starving Palau’s tourism-dependent economy of visitors and being behind a major cyberattack earlier this year in which more than 20,000 documents were stolen.

Last month, he said, Chinese research vessels made two illegal incursions into Palau’s exclusive economic zone.

“That’s another example of [China] not respecting the rule of law, not respecting boundaries,” he said. “These are the types of activities that don’t lend to friendly relations.”

Whipps said he hoped Lai’s visit would unlock new opportunities for investment in areas such as tourism, aquaculture, agriculture, renewable energy and marine transportation.

“We want to encourage investment and this is something that we hope for during President Lai’s visit,” he said.

Another initiative that would be discussed would be joint maritime rescue operations and patrols, he added.

Palau, located between the Philippines and Guam – a base for U.S. bombers – is one of three Pacific island nations including the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia that give the U.S. exclusive military access to their territories in exchange for economic assistance under compacts of free association.

They have among the world’s largest exclusive economic zones and militarily strategic seas near East Asia, a region of potential flashpoints in China-U.S. competition.

U.S. military presence is set to grow in Palau with the installation of an over-the-horizon radar by 2026. The U.S. Marine Corps is also expanding a Japanese WWII-era runway on the island of Peleliu.

Whipps, who won a second term in office after an election last month, said Palau’s close ties with the U.S, Taiwan and Japan were important in securing a free and open Pacific. 

He said certain Chinese actions were stoking regional tension, including its activities towards the Philippines in and around disputed shoals in the South China Sea.

Whipps also criticized China’s test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile, without warning, into the Pacific Ocean in September as a “clear violation of common decency and respect for nations.”