TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The President of Palau said on Monday (April 17) his country stands with Taiwan on the principle of being free to choose its own international partnerships.
“We have always said that we are friends to all and enemy to none,” President Surangel Whipps Jr. said to ABC Australia on Tuesday (April 18), and said when China invited Palau to establish a formal relationship, cutting ties with Taiwan was a precondition. “No one should tell us who our partners should be, we should be free to choose, he said, “and part of that freedom is allowing us to be partners with both.”
Whipps Jr. said that China had bullied his country by cutting off the supply of Chinese tourists, which made up 70% of visitors to Palau at its peak. In 2015, the number of Chinese tourists visiting the country increased by 14,000% after the Chinese government made it an approved tourism destination, only to cut off the flow two years later when it became apparent Palau was not going to alter its relationship with Taiwan.
“We have stood by Taiwan. It is a country that shares the same values that we have, and we believe that we should stand together, with likeminded partners,” Surangel said.
Despite the geopolitical competition in the region, Whipps Jr. said that climate change is the most important issue facing his country, and monetary assistance from likeminded partners should not be viewed as paying for influence.
The President was speaking to ABC Australia following Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s comments on regional stability, and was asked if he agreed with accusations that Wong was simply handing out money to Pacific Island countries in exchange for influence.
“No, I don’t see it as that,” Whipps said. “We have real challenges, climate change being at the top of the list,” and added that “to me Penny Wong is being responsive and the Australian government is being responsive to the real crises that are going on.”
The Taiwan government granted Palau US$1 million (NT$32.5 million) in aid to fight climate change in February, and assisted other diplomatic allies in the region with climate change mitigation. On April 14, the Foreign Minister of the Marshall Islands, Kitlang Kabua (also a diplomatic ally of Taiwan) thanked Taiwan for its climate assistance, though said that the Marshall Islands still faced severe climate change challenges.
Lowy Institute Pacific Islands Program Research Fellow Mihai Sora told Taiwan News in early April that Pacific countries generally respect each others’ decisions with respect to their international relations, despite common challenges. “Ultimately, the main priority for all Pacific countries is responding to climate change and economic recovery, rather than actively engaging in geopolitical jostling,” Sora said.