Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen promises to help boost tourism in Palau on first leg of Pacific diplomacy tour
- Leader says island’s carrier China Airways will add a fourth weekly flight to Palau to boost travel to remote microstate
- Tsai also gifts a coastguard vessel which will be used to patrol a new conservation area
Visiting Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has pledged a tourism boost and gifted a coastguard vessel to the remote Pacific microstate of Palau, as she works to check a push for regional influence by rival Beijing.
Tsai arrived in Palau on Thursday at the start of her second official visit to the Pacific amid growing concerns over Beijing’s attempt to lure away Taipei’s few remaining diplomatic allies.
Her overtures this week included a pledge to increase flights to the tiny island state, which is struggling to boost tourism after cutting back on charter flights from mainland China.
Tsai said Taiwanese carrier China Airlines would add a fourth weekly flight to Palau to bolster the local tourism industry, which has been dominated by visitors from mainland China.
She also gifted a coastal frigate for patrol of a new conservation area, to be established when the country closes part of its exclusive economic zone to commercial fishing by next year.
The Taiwanese leader made the commitments late on Friday after meetings with Palau President Tommy Remengesau, who reaffirmed his tiny nation’s “lasting friendship” with Taipei.