It’s a slightly old article (from the end of April) but I thought it would be of interest here. Palau, a small Oceanian nation, finds itself dragged into the geopolitical conflict between the USA and China. The island holds strategic importance as an American-allied nation located in a position that serves to block China from the Western Pacific and as such, there is clear interest from China in bringing the nation closer to its side. Cases of donations to politicians from foreign nationals are prevalent as are cases of organised crime. Many major members of the Palauan government such as the President of the Palauan senate and the former President of Palau have ties to Chinese businessmen and investors and in the latter case has even been photographed meeting a leader of a Chinese Triad (though he claims to not have known at the time that was the case). Hopefully this geopolitical struggle does not flare up into one that involves and negatively impacts the lives of the citizens of Palau and that both superpowers can squabble in a manner that improves rather than worsens the lives of the people living in Palau.
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It’s a slightly old article (from the end of April) but I thought it would be of interest here. Palau, a small Oceanian nation, finds itself dragged into the geopolitical conflict between the USA and China. The island holds strategic importance as an American-allied nation located in a position that serves to block China from the Western Pacific and as such, there is clear interest from China in bringing the nation closer to its side. Cases of donations to politicians from foreign nationals are prevalent as are cases of organised crime. Many major members of the Palauan government such as the President of the Palauan senate and the former President of Palau have ties to Chinese businessmen and investors and in the latter case has even been photographed meeting a leader of a Chinese Triad (though he claims to not have known at the time that was the case). Hopefully this geopolitical struggle does not flare up into one that involves and negatively impacts the lives of the citizens of Palau and that both superpowers can squabble in a manner that improves rather than worsens the lives of the people living in Palau.