On the last stop on his Pacific tour, President Lai Ching-te hailed the growing friendship between Taiwan and Palau, which has flourished despite pressure from China.
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00:00The latest milestone in a blossoming friendship.
00:04Taiwan's President Lai Ching-de welcomed by his counterpart on a state visit to Palau.
00:12It's Lai's last stop on a whirlwind diplomatic tour bolstering ties with Pacific island nations.
00:18And he's here with a simple message.
00:21With a population of only 20,000, Palau is one of just 12 countries worldwide
00:31that has official diplomatic ties with Taipei.
00:34China claims Taiwan as part of its territory
00:37and objects to recognition of its sovereignty by a state visit like this.
00:41In rare defiance of Beijing, Palau's leader Suringel Wicks Jr.
00:45says his country has been punished by China for its friendship with Taiwan.
00:50Weaponising tourism and illegally sending vessels into its waters
00:53to pressure Palau to cut ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing.
00:58We want you to come and we want us to win together.
01:03As we navigate the complexities of international relations,
01:09the threats to democracy and the threats to our sovereignty,
01:14now more than ever, we must stand strong together.
01:20Palau wants to be less reliant on China,
01:23currently its largest source of tourists and investment.
01:26Lai's delegation includes business leaders
01:29and is expected to bring new sources of investment for the country in tourism and green technologies.
01:34He's also sharing his country's knowledge of so-called digital democracy.
01:39Palau's capital building was built with the help of a US$20 million loan from Taiwan.
01:44Now Taiwan, a world leader in high technology,
01:48is going to help to digitalise its legislature with online voting and better online security.
01:54While promising to help countries like Palau modernise,
01:57on his week-long trip, Lai has also emphasised their commonalities,
02:01highlighting ancient migration routes that link indigenous Taiwanese to Pacific Islanders
02:07and cultural traditions that they still share.
02:10So I think this connection has been here for a while and is working in a very different way
02:18and also reshaping Taiwanese identity and reshaping Taiwanese political imagination.
02:26So there is a slowly transition from focusing on China
02:33and then we're now focusing on the island nations.
02:37Although there are thousands of nautical miles between their island nations,
02:41Lai describes Palau's leader as a brother.
02:44The message from this pair is that despite Beijing's political protestations,
02:49this relationship is both timely and time-honoured.
02:53John Su and Rick Lowatt in Palau for Taiwan Plus.