Pacific leaders to meet in Palau amid Taiwan tension

KOROR, Palau

Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr. (L) and Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung gesture after cutting a ribbon during the inauguration ceremony for Taiwan-funded solar energy and electric bus projects in Koror on Aug. 30, ahead of the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. (AFP photo)

Pacific island leaders will tackle transnational drug crime as they meet in Palau from Aug. 31 for a summit where tensions between Taiwan and China risk overshadowing regional priorities like climate change.

Palau, this year’s host of the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum, is among three members holding diplomatic ties with Taiwan and not China, a large creditor to many island states.

China, Taiwan and the United States are among the aid partners invited to the forum, although not the leaders’ meeting. Beijing has protested Taiwan’s invitation.

On Aug. 30, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung cut the ribbon with Palau President Surangel Whipps at a ceremony handing over a fleet of electric buses donated by Taipei.

China retaliated against Lin’s arrival in Palau by declaring the tourism-dependent island an “unsafe” place for travelers, Whipps later told reporters.

Chinese tourists are the largest group of visitors to Palau, data shows.

The U.S. Embassy issued a statement accusing China of attempting to “weaponize tourism to coerce Palau.”