Arab News Japan
TOKYO: Palau, one of the world’s smallest countries, is trying to expand tourism but says it is running into problems with one of the world’s largest.
Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo, Palau’s President, Srangell S. Whipps, described his country (population 20,000) as a “paradise,” but, like other Pacific island nations, rising sea levels due to global climate change threaten the country’s very existence.
Pollution, COVID-19 and overfishing have also hit the island’s economy, leading the government to restrict fishing to allow fish stocks to recover. Tourism numbers plummeted due to COVID-19, but have now recovered to 60% of pre-COVID levels.
Chinese tourists once flocked to Palau, but that trend ended when Palau established diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Palau’s Ministry of Finance recently suffered a cybersecurity breach that Treasurer Whipps said was likely caused by Chinese forces seeking to destabilize Palau’s relations with other countries.
“China is trying to undermine those relationships and demonstrate our weakness,” Whipps said, calling the attack an act of state harassment. “This is not the first time China has not respected our borders.”
The cyberattack came shortly after Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States to provide aid and security guarantees.
Whipps is now turning to the Japanese market to help restore the economic health of the tourism industry and manage catches to revitalize the fishing industry.
Whipps was in Japan to meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss business and security and to prepare for the Pacific Islands Leaders’ Meeting in July.
