China ‘weaponising tourism’ over Pacific nations’ support for Taiwan

The president of Palau, population of 18,000, has detailed Beijing’s attempts to pressure the island nation into switching its allegiance.

Palau is one of three Pacific nations signed up to Compact of Free Association with the United States.

The president of Palau has given a graphic account of the pressure China is putting on the Pacific nation to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing.

President Surangel Whipps said China was “weaponising tourism”, which accounts for a substantial slice of his small country’s economy, as part of its tactics. He was speaking to Winston Peters, New Zealand’s foreign minister, who is on a tour of Pacific islands.

Whipps accused China of spreading stories that his country was unsafe. On the other hand, he had been told that if he switched recognition to Beijing, the sky would be the limit for Chinese visitors and Palau would be given “everything you need”.

The president said: “We need economic development, but at the same time we have values and we have partnerships and the relationship we have with Taiwan we treasure.”

Palau, which has a population of 18,000 spread across 500 islands, is one of three Pacific nations, along with the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, which are part of the “Compact of Free Association” (Cofa) with the United States.

In return for guarantees of US protection, it grants the US uninhibited access to its territory and waters.

Palau is also among the handful of remaining states worldwide that grant Taiwan diplomatic recognition, which means withholding it from Beijing. China hopes to whittle those away, isolating Taiwan, which has no seat at the United Nations and needs allies to represent its cause in international forums.

Earlier this year President Whipps and his fellow leaders wrote desperate letters to the US Congress after the impasse over the budget in Washington inadvertently blocked payments of billions of dollars promised to the three Cofa states. China, sensing an opportunity, promised local businessmen large investments if they could persuade Whipps to switch recognition. In the end, the payments were released.

Whipps said that Beijing’s weaponisation of tourism was “a reality that we face”. He added: “We have a relationship with Taiwan and, of course, that relationship is something that China’s openly told us is illegal and we should not recognise Taiwan … It’s something that we have said very clearly, that we are their friend and nobody else should say that we cannot be their friend.”

The Times