U.S Defense Secretary Mark Esper visited
the island nation in september 2020 and
accused the PRC of ongoing destabilizing
activities in the indo-pacific. Palauan President Thomas Ramansao
revealed that he told esper the u.s
military was welcome to build facilities
in his country, an archipelago about 1,500 kilometers east of the philippines.
Palau's request to the u.s military
remains simple, build joint use
facilities. Then come and use them
regularly, he said in a letter to the u.s
defense chief.
The note said the nation of 22,000 was
open to hosting land bases port
facilities and airfields. ramensao also suggested a u.s coast
guard presence in palau to help patrol
its vast marine reserve, which covers an
area the size of spain and is difficult
for the nation to monitor. While palau is an independent nation it
has no military and the us is
responsible for its defense under an
agreement called the compact of free
association.
Under the deal, the us military has
access to the islands. Although it
currently has no troops permanently
stationed there. We should use the mechanisms of the
compact to establish a regular u.s
military presence in Palau, Ramensau said.
Ramensau said bases in palau would not
only increase u.s military preparedness
but also help the local economy, which is
struggling as the Covid 19 pandemic has
halted tourism, its main industry. A u.s military radar facility is planned
for Palau. But construction has been
suspended because of the pandemic with
the island nation keen to retain its
virus free status.
In addition to its close u.s ties palau
is one of taiwan's four allies in the
pacific. The chinese communist party which sees
taiwan as part of its territory has
tried to win over taipei's allies in the
pacific. persuading the solomon islands
and kiribati to switch sides in 2019.
Palau has refused prompting the PRC to
effectively ban chinese tourists from
visiting the island country in 2018. It would appear that president ramensau
sees this in part as a potential
economic solution to counter palau
significant dependence on tourism. Including chinese tourism, saidAanna Powell's an expert in pacific security
at new zealand's massey university.
While not naming the PRC directly
ramansao told esper that destabilizing
actors have already stepped forward to
take advantage of the virus-related
economic crises that small island
nations are experiencing. He said the prc was offering cheap loans
to island nations to win their loyalty. That has an impact on how people view
the relationship with those who help
them, he said.
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