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The small Pacific nation of Palau has urged the US military to build bases on its territory, which is in a region where Washington is rejecting growing Chinese influence.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper visited the island nation last week and accused Beijing of “ongoing destabilizing activities” in the Pacific.
Palau President Tommy Remengesau later revealed that he told Esper that the US military could build facilities in his country, an archipelago about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) east of the Philippines.
“Palau’s request to the US military remains simple: build joint-use facilities, then come and use them regularly,” he said in a letter to the US defense chief his office published this week.
The note, addressed to Esper and marked “in hand, Koror. Palau,” said the nation of 22,000 people was open to hosting land bases, port facilities and airfields for the US military.
Remengesau also suggested a US Coast Guard presence in Palau to help patrol its vast marine reserve, which covers an area of ocean the size of Spain and is difficult for the small nation to monitor.
Although Palau is an independent nation, it does not have an army and the United States is responsible for its defense under an agreement with Washington called the Compact of Free Association.
Under the agreement, the US military has access to the islands, although it currently has no troops permanently stationed there.
“We should use the mechanisms of the Pact to establish a regular US military presence in Palau,” Remengesau said.
“The right of the US military to establish defense sites in the Republic of Palau has been underused throughout the duration of the Pact.”
He said the bases in Palau would not only increase America’s military readiness, but also help the local economy, which is struggling because the Covid-19 pandemic has halted tourism, its main industry.
Palau was the scene of bloody fighting between American and Japanese forces in World War II, but Washington focused on bases in the Philippines and Guam after the war.
A US military radar facility is planned to be installed in Palau, but construction was suspended due to the pandemic, and the island nation wants to maintain its virus-free status.
In addition to its close ties with the United States, Palau is also one of Taiwan’s four remaining allies in the Pacific and only 15 in the entire world.
China, which views Taiwan as part of its territory, has set out to win the support of Taipei’s allies in the Pacific, persuading the Solomon Islands and Kiribati to switch sides last year.
Palau has refused, prompting Beijing to effectively ban its tourists from visiting the country in 2018.
“It appears that President Remengesau sees this, in part, as a possible economic solution to counteract Palau’s significant dependence on tourism, including Chinese tourism,” said Anna Powles, an expert on Pacific security at Massey University in New Zealand.
“Palau is also feeling the pressure of proximity regarding the efforts of China and Beijing to persuade Palau to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China,” he told AFP.
While he did not name China directly, Remengesau told Esper that “destabilizing actors have already stepped forward to take advantage of” the virus-related economic crises that small island nations are experiencing.
“Mr. Secretary, it has been a great relief to hear you and other senior US officials acknowledge the complex reality of Indo-Pacific security, which is as threatened by the predatory economy as it is by military aggression,” he wrote.
During Esper’s visit last week, which lasted just three hours, Remengesau said China was offering cheap loans to island nations to win their loyalty.
“That has an impact on how people see the relationship with those who help them,” he said.
str-ns-arb / mtp
