By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The president of the tiny Pacific Islands nation of Palau, one of the few countries to escape U.S. tariffs, said he remains “positive” the Trump Administration will keep a strong focus on the region and not permanently retreat.
Palau, with a population of 17,000, has a compact of free association with the United States providing economic assistance in return for allowing the U.S. military access to its territory. It received USAID funding for submarine cables and climate change programmes, before most U.S. Agency for International Development staff globally were put on leave.
“I hope that it is a retreat, reassess, then come back stronger,” Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr said in Sydney on Thursday of the USAID cuts.
Citing the Reagan Administration slogan of “peace through strength” that he said “Trump likes too”, Whipps said in an address at the Lowy Institute think tank that Palau’s priority was to ensure it was properly defended.
In his first presidency, Trump brought three Pacific Islands leaders to the White House to engage on security issues, he said.
“What Palau sees as important is a strong United States that’s able to continue to be strong, is good for Palau and good for the planet,” Whipps said.
“It has been a bumpy road, cutting USAID and other activities, but I like to think positive,” he added.
Although two other Pacific compact states, Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, were made subject to tariffs, Whipps said Palau fell under the radar because it had few exports.
Pacific Islands countries face existential danger from rising sea levels and worsening cyclones, Whipps added.
Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate targets, for the second time, will motivate Palau and other Pacific countries to demonstrate that climate change “is not just another natural disaster, it’s a real challenge that we have,” he said.
Palau supported Australia’s bid to host the COP31 climate change summit in conjunction with Pacific Island countries, he said, while also noting Australia was a major contributor to global emissions because of its fossil fuel exports.
Pacific Island countries need to show the Australian public why it was important to phase out coal, he said.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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