MOFA bashes China over 'weaponized tourism' pressure on Palau

Taipei, Oct. 31 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Thursday condemned China's reported use of economic pressure in a bid to force Palau into switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, saying it has been a longstanding strategy.

"China has long weaponized tourism to pressure Palau into capitulating on its diplomatic position," MOFA said in a press release. Taiwan "strongly condemns China for its deliberate and forceful economic coercion of [Taipei's] allies."

MOFA did not respond directly to CNA's question about how the outcome of Palau's general elections on Nov. 5 might impact its relations with Taiwan, saying only that the bilateral ties have remained "stable and solid" over the past two decades.

Over the years, Taiwan and Palau have collaborated in a wide range of areas, including agriculture, fishery, health, tourism, education, and maritime conservation and security, MOFA said.

The ministry issued a statement in condemnation of China's "economic coercion" after Bloomberg on Thursday quoted Palau President Surangel Whipps, Jr. as saying in an interview that China had been pressuring his government to switch diplomatic allegiance from Taipei to Beijing.

"They try to convince everybody that what Palau is doing, and everybody else, is illegal," Whipps said in the Bloomberg interview, referring to Beijing's attempts to undermine his country's ties with Taiwan.

Whipps, who is seeking reelection on Nov. 5, did not specify what forms of pressure China was using, Bloomberg reported. It also said that China's foreign ministry had not responded to its request for a comment on the matter.

It was not the first time that Whipps publicly expressed concern about pressure from China to switch diplomatic ties.

In an interview with the Associated Press in August, the president said that in 2020 he had turned down a proposal put forth by a Chinese diplomat, who had promised to bring in 1 million visitors into Palau on condition that it switched diplomatic relations to China if Whipps won the election that year.

Whipps, who won the November 2020 presidential election, has been supportive of Taiwan since he took office in 2021.

He last visited Taiwan at the end of September to promote Palau's tourism and to seek potential investments in his country. He also met with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) during the two-day trip.

In Palau's upcoming election, Whipps, 56, is in a race against 68-year-old former President Tommy Remengesau Jr,, who also favored maintaining ties with Taiwan during his previous two terms 2001-2009 and 2013-2021.

Palau established formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, officially called the Republic of China, in 1999.

The small Pacific island country, which has a population of around 20,000 and is heavily dependent on tourism, is one of three Pacific nations that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the others being Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands.

Since the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in Taiwan in 2016, Beijing has poached three of Taipei's Pacific allies -- the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru -- in a ramped up bid to isolate Taiwan from the international community.