President Surangel Whipps Jr. said the visit of members U.S congressional delegation, Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-te and the mid Joint Committee meeting with military officials all happened not as a coordinated move but a “happy coincidence.”
Whipps said it has been a busy few days for the country with allies from the US and Taiwan visiting the country for collaborations and strengthening bilateral ties among the nations.
The US Congressional delegation has thanked Palau for its support to Taiwan.
“The United States is committed to fighting back against unilateral and violent attempts to overturn the rules based international order in Ukraine to the Indo Pacific, and around the world,” one of the congressional delegates told the local media.
“The people of Palau deeply value the friendship between our two nations and are committed to supporting Taiwan despite the mounting aggressions in our region,” Whipps said during his visit to Taiwan last month.
U.S Congressman Tom Suozzi, D-NY, said, the relationship with the Pacific islands “is very very important to the United States, and we need to up our game and spend more time to give more attention to these relations.”
The U.S congressional delegation departed a day before Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-Tse visited Palau where the mandated annual Joint Committee Meeting between Palau and U.S military and civilian officials was also taking place.