Palau’s president vowed on Sept. 11 that the Pacific nation will maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan despite growing concerns over attempts by the Beijing regime and the Kremlin to change the international status quo.
“What we all want is to reduce the escalation of activities and maintain the status quo. I hope that the escalations will stop, and that we can continue with the peace and security that we had before,” he said.
Whipps believes that China’s aggressive posturing, which has led many Pacific nations to placate Beijing by severing ties with Taiwan in recent years, may have exacerbated regional tensions. But he noted that Palau will maintain its strong ties with the self-ruled democratic Taiwan.
“We value that relationship. It’s a very strong and healthy relationship, and Taiwan has been a good partner. We want to continue to work with them,” he said.
“I know, over the past few years, we have seen many countries that used to recognize the Republic of China, Taiwan, have switched sides. And I think, because of that, more tension has been created and it makes the region more unstable.”
Whipps made the remarks following a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sept. 9, when they affirmed their close cooperation and commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Taiwan Relations
Palau is a democratic republic that has long maintained stronger ties with Taiwan than with the Chinese communist regime.Aside from Palau, only three other Pacific island nations—the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Tuvalu—still recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation. The Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched allegiance to China in 2019.
China views Taiwan as a renegade province that must be reunited with the mainland. The Chinese communist regime began its military drills near Taiwan in August following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island.
The Solomon Islands signed a security deal with Beijing in April, which other nations feared would allow China to establish a military base 1,000 miles off the Australian coast and rapidly destabilize the region.