Palau says China ICBM test a ‘direct threat’, seeks US Patriot missile system

President Whipps said he and incoming US leader Trump are ‘very much in agreement’ regarding the Pacific island nation’s security

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China test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in September. Photo: PLA Army News and Communication Centre/AFP

Published: 12:30pm, 14 Nov 2024

Palau’s re-elected President Surangel Whipps said on Tuesday he may ask the United States for a Patriot missile defence system, citing a recent Chinese missile test as a “direct threat” to the Pacific island nation.

Under the Compact of Free Association, an agreement allowing US funding and military access to Palau, Whipps, 56, said the US is responsible for defending his country of around 18,000 people.

“We have also the power to request additional [defence support] if we feel there’s a threat,” Whipps said, hours before winning an election that gave him another four years in office. In September, China test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that Whipps said intruded into Palau’s airspace.

Whipps believes he and US president-elect Donald Trump are “very much in agreement” regarding security. He noted the US will install defence radars in Palau’s Angaur and Ngaraard states, and expand a seaport in Koror.

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Along with 11 other allies, Whipps said Palau should maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan “because it’s built on mutual respect, rule of law and really, democracy and freedom … which is something we should all promote”.