Palau President Says CCP Leveraging Tourism to Pressure State on China Stance

Palau’s president Surangel Whipps Jr. speaks during the annual gathering in New York City for the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 21, 2021. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. said late on Aug. 15 that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has made good on its threat to leverage tourism to the Micronesian island, after he spoke openly about a Chinese cyberattack and refused to cut relations with Taiwan.

The CCP has exerted pressure on other Pacific island nations in recent years. In 2022, Beijing rolled out a plan to partner with 10 countries in a sweeping security and economic deal. However, the nations rejected the deal.

Tourism is but one economic lever Beijing has in pressuring these islands. Whipps said that when he ran for office in 2020, a Chinese ambassador told him how easily they could bring a million tourists to Palau if Whipps changed his stance on China and Taiwan.

“We don’t need a million tourists,” he told The Associated Press. “It’s not always about how much money we get.”

The CCP seems to have now done the opposite. In May, Whipps first revealed a cyberattack on Palau in which 20,000 government documents were stolen and put the blame on the Chinese regime. The same month, representatives from Palau were denied visas to enter Macau for a tourism industry conference.

Whipps has repeated the claims despite CCP pushback and in June told a Tokyo news conference that the attack came from “somewhere in Malaysia with traces back to China.” That month, CCP officials issued statements warning tourists about safety issues when visiting Palau.

“That continues to be the overture,” he said. “They say: ‘Why are you torturing yourselves? Just join us and the sky’s the limit.’”

He confirmed that tourism from China is down this year. Whipps said Palau has instead strengthened ties with nearby countries such as Taiwan, Japan, and Australia, which now has a non-stop flight from Brisbane to Palau.

“We’ve always had the belief that we should be friends to all and enemies to none,” Whipps said. “Our relationship [with] Taiwan shouldn’t be questioned by anybody.”

Whipps added that it is an election year, and pro-Beijing voices are growing ahead of the November vote. However, he doesn’t think China or Taiwan is a big platform issue. Whipps’s predecessor, Thomas Remengesau Jr., had also resisted the CCP’s attempts to sway his office, and Whipps believes the leader after him will not weaken ties with Taiwan either.

Accepting aid from Beijing would be no small matter—the region is the site of intensifying rivalry between the United States and China, as the CCP seeks to expand its influence and control beyond its borders.

Several regional island nations, sometimes known as the “Second Island Chain,” form a strategic zone that would give China or the United States an advantage in a conflict over Taiwan or the Philippines. Of these nations, only Palau, Nauru, Tuvalu, and the Marshall Islands recognize Taiwan.

Last year, the United States signed an aid agreement with the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia, strengthening its regional ties.

David Panuelo, the former president of the Federated States of Micronesia, has also been outspoken about CCP officials’ attempts to spy on and influence his nation and has warned neighboring nations against signing the 2022 deal with China.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.