Palau–Taiwan relations are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caro ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. Palau maintains an embassy in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

and Taiwan (officially the Republic of China or ROC) maintains an embassy in

Koror City Koror City (, ;''Koror'', World Book Advanced'','' World Book, Chicago) is the largest city and the commercial center in Palau, home to about half of the country's population, located on Oreor Island. During the interwar period it served as the c ...

. Exchanges between the two nations range from agriculture, culture, education, fishery, medical services, tourism and water supply infrastructure. As of , Palau is one of only 12

United Nations member states United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

to have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

History

Palau and Taiwan have had economic and political relations since 1994. In late December 1999, Palau officially established diplomatic relations with the ROC. Taiwan have funded Palauan buildings such as the

Palasia Hotel Palasia Hotel is a hotel in Koror, Palau. It is the tallest building in Palau with 10 floors and a height of around 36m. The building cost $1 million to build and was funded by Taiwan. History In January 1995, Chen Ding-nan, president of the As ...

, Palau Royal Resort, Hung Kuo Resort and Papago International Resort. In 2010, a petroleum company of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

signed a US$40 million cooperation with Palau to explore oil reserve around the islands country. On June 6, 2017, Palau Health Minister Emais Roberts visited

. In December 2017, Palau's ambassador to Taiwan stated that Palau–Taiwan relations were "extremely stable", and that Palau would not shift diplomatic relations to mainland China. President

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...

visited Palau in 2019 and President Surangel Whipps Jr. visited Taiwan in 2021. In April 2021, a travel bubble was set up between Palau and Taiwan. Though travel restrictions were introduced in May 2021 due to increased COVID-19 cases in Taiwan. In December 2021, the Taiwanese government donated a statue of former Palauan president

Kuniwo Nakamura was a Palau, Palauan politician who served as the President of Palau from 1993 to 2001. He had earlier served as Vice President of Palau from 1989 to 1993, under Ngiratkel Etpison. Background and early life Nakamura was the son of a Japanese set ...

for his role in establishing relations between the two countries in December 1999 with the Embassy of the Republic of China in the Republic of Palau stating that his legacy will "always be remembered and honored by both Taiwan and Palau people".

Academic relations

In 2017, Palau National Scholarship Board and

Kainan University Kainan University (KNU; ) is a private university located near Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan. KNU was founded as Kainan Commercial and Technical High School in 1917. In January 1990, the school was upgraded to Kainan Institute of Techno ...

signed a memorandum of understanding to establish bilateral relations in research and cultural exchange between the two countries. Through the agreement, Kainan University would waive tuition and fees of two students recommended by PNSB and accepted to attend Kainan. Taiwan's

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

facilitated a service project to establish cooperation between the

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...

's Center of Teacher Education and

Palau High School Palau High School (PHS) is a senior high school in Koror City, Palau. Opened in 1962, it is the country's only public high school, and the first high school established in Palau. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accredits the ...

. The program took place in January and February 2023, after two years of planning and five months of training. In September 2023, Taiwan's

National Sun Yat-sen University National Sun Yat-sen University (NSYSU; ) is a public research-intensive university renowned as an official think tank scholars' community, located in Sizihwan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. NSYSU is listed as one of six national research universities, ...

signed an MOU with several Palauan institutions to establish collaboration of blue carbon economy and climate change studies.

Sports

Taiwan sponsored the Belau Omal Marathon and the first International Baseball Classic tournament in Palau. The tournament took place at Palau Asahi Field in June 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palau-Taiwan Relations

History

Academic relations

Sports

See also

References