Palau President Calls China’s July Missile Test in Pacific ‘Disturbing’
KOROR, Palau — Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., who is currently hosting the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in his country, described a missile test in the Pacific by the Chinese military in July as “disturbing” in an interview with the media, including The Yomiuri Shimbun, in Koror, Palau, on Sunday.
Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr., hosting the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, called a Chinese military missile test in the Pacific in July "disturbing" in an interview, noting the lack of notification and mentioning the matter would be discussed at the meeting. The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) foreign ministers meeting in Fiji on August 7 did not issue a joint statement condemning the missile launch, believed to be due to opposition from Naoero (formerly Nauru) and Kiribati, two pro-China countries.
Palau's president urged fellow Pacific nations to speak out and not be afraid to express their truth, emphasizing the need to come together as a Pacific region to address Pacific issues. The following year, Taiwan, a non-regional partner of the PIF, was excluded from the forum's meeting, which Whipps saw as a result of pressure from China over accepting Taiwan's participation this year as a development partner.
He also expressed offense at claims on Chinese social media that Palau was an unsafe place to visit. Regarding Japan, Whipps highlighted its role as a crucial partner in the Pacific for infrastructure building, health education, and various sectors, and expressed hope that Japan would continue investing and partnering with the Pacific to enhance resilience while maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Written by urgent.news from The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
