The Pacific island nation of Palau has urged the US military to build bases on its territory — which lies in a region where Washington is pushing back against growing Chinese influence.
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper last week visited the nation and accused Beijing of “ongoing destabilizing activities” in the Pacific.
Palauan President Tommy Remengesau later revealed he told Esper that the US military is welcome to build facilities in his country.
Photo: AFP
“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 Esper that his office released this week.
The note, addressed to Esper and marked “by hand delivery, Koror, Palau,” said that the nation of 22,000 was open to hosting land bases, port facilities and airfields for the US military.
Remengesau said a US Coast Guard presence in Palau would help patrol its vast marine reserve, which covers an area of ocean the size of Spain and is difficult to monitor.
While Palau is an independent nation, it has no military and the US is responsible for its defense under an agreement with Washington called the Compact of Free Association.
Under the deal, the US military has access to the islands, although it has not stationed troops there.
“We should use the mechanisms of the compact to establish a regular US military presence in Palau,” Remengesau said. “The US military’s right to establish defense sites in the Republic of Palau has been under-utilized for the entire duration of the compact.”
Bases in Palau would not only increase US military preparedness, but also help the local economy, which is struggling as the COVID-19 pandemic has halted tourism, its main industry, he said.
Palau was the scene of bloody fighting between US 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 for Palau, but construction has been suspended because of the pandemic, with the island nation eager to retain its virus-free status.
In addition to its close US ties, Palau is also one of Taiwan’s four remaining allies in the Pacific and only 15 worldwide.
Palau has refused to switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, prompting Beijing in 2018 to effectively ban its tourists from visiting the country.
While not naming China directly, Remengesau told Esper that “destabilizing actors have already stepped forward to take advantage” of the virus-related economic crises that island nations are experiencing.
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