Palau-U.S. Agreement Bolsters Island Nation’s Maritime Enforcement
A Palau-United States agreement authorizes U.S. ships to unilaterally enforce maritime regulations in the Pacific island nation’s exclusive economic zone. The August 2023 move followed the Palau president’s request for Washington’s help to deter “unwanted activities” by the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“This agreement helps Palau monitor our exclusive economic zone, protect against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and deter uninvited vessels from conducting questionable maneuvers within our waters,” Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. said in a statement. “It’s these types of partnerships that help us work toward our common goal of peace and prosperity in the region.”
In June 2023, Whipps said three Chinese boats had made “uninvited” entries into his country’s waters since he took office in 2021 and called for further U.S. backing to enhance deterrence against the PRC’s assertive moves.
Whipps also accused the PRC of conducting surveying activities in Palau’s waters and suggested Beijing may be punishing Palau over its diplomatic recognition of self-governed Taiwan.
Tensions have grown in the region as the PRC presses its widespread maritime claims, which were invalidated by an international tribunal in 2016.
About the same time the Palau-U.S. agreement was signed, two Philippine vessels, with a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft overhead, breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in the disputed South China Sea to deliver supplies to Philippine forces stationed at Second Thomas Shoal.
In addition to the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have overlapping claims with the PRC in the South China Sea. An estimated one-third of global shipping passes through the strategic waterway.
The U.S.’s agreement with Palau is similar to one it reached with the Federated States of Micronesia in late 2022 that allows the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct boardings for the Pacific nation. The Associated Press
