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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Jellyfish Lake: Palau's saltwater pool with a toxic bottom and surface waters brimming with millions of jellyfish
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. QUICK FACTS Name: Jellyfish Lake, or "Ongeim'l Tketau" in Palauan Location: Palau, Western Pacific Coordinates: 7.161200817499221, 134.37633688402798 Why it's incredible: The lake has three layers, including one inhabited by millions of jellyfish and another containing poisonous gas. Jellyfish Lake is a pool of saltwater on Eil Malk island in Palau that is brimming with golden jellyfish — a subspecies not found anywhere else on Earth. The lake typically houses around 5 million jellyfish, according to the Coral Reef Research Foundation (CRRF) — although there have been years, including 2005, when the number of jellies exceeded 30 million. Jellyfish Lake is highly stratified, meaning it is separated into distinct layers. Golden jellyfish inhabit the top layer, which extends from the surface down to about 43 feet (13 meters) deep. Between 43 and 50 feet (13 to 15 m) deep, the lake contains pink bacteria that prevents light and oxygen from reaching the bottom layer of the lake, which sits between 50 and 100 feet (15 to 30 m) deep. The lake is connected to the ocean through small cracks in Eil Malk's limestone rock, but it is nevertheless considered an isolated ecosystem, according to CRRF learning resources. Jellyfish Lake formed toward the end of the last ice age, roughly 12,000 years ago, due to ice melt and sea level rise. Sea water filled depressions in Palau's islands and elsewhere, creating three types of lakes: stratified lakes, such as Jellyfish Lake; mixed lakes, which are connected to the ocean via large tunnels; and transitional lakes, which are also connected to the ocean, but via smaller tunnels. Related: 'A challenge and an opportunity for evolution': The extreme, hidden life thriving in Earth's most acidic and alkaline lakes Jellyfish Lake's pink layer exists because the conditions in that layer suit a type of bacteria that are pink in color. These bacteria create a barrier between the lake's oxygenated top layer and its oxygen-free bottom layer. This barrier bobs up and down depending on density changes in the water. The lack of oxygen beneath the pink layer is deadly for most life. What's more, plant and animal decomposition at the bottom of Jellyfish Lake releases poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas, which means only certain microbes can survive there, according to the CRRF. Jellyfish Lake's endemic golden jellyfish (Mastigias papua etpisoni) population likely evolved from a handful of spotted jellyfish (Mastigias papua) that became trapped when sea levels dropped following the lake's formation. Unique conditions inside the lake forced the jellies to adapt, leading to a new subspecies, which is named after Palau's former president, Ngiratkel Etpison. MORE INCREDIBLE PLACES —Lake Salda: The only place on Earth similar to Jezero crater on Mars —Lake Kivu: The ticking time bomb that could one day explode and unleash a massive, deadly gas cloud —Rainbow swamp: The flooded forest in Virginia that puts on a magical light show every winter Golden jellyfish have a symbiotic relationship with single-celled, photosynthetic algae that give them nutrients in exchange for a place to live. The jellyfish follow an unusual migration pattern that involves swimming towards the sun as it rises and sets, always avoiding the lake's edges where jellyfish-eating sea anemones (Entacmaea medusivora) lurk. These predatory anemones prefer the shadows, so golden jellyfish have evolved to stay in sunlit waters. Every morning, the jellies crowd along the lake's eastern shadow line, and visitors may occasionally see a "wall" of jellyfish forming underwater, according to the CRRF. While golden jellyfish have stinging cells, the sting is so mild that humans can't feel it. Visitors can safely swim in Jellyfish Lake, but people should take care not to accidentally introduce non-native species to the lake, as these can, and already do, endanger the fragile ecosystem, according to the CRRF. Discover more incredible places, where we highlight the fantastic history and science behind some of the most dramatic landscapes on Earth.
The Age
24-05-2025
- The Age
The stunning Pacific island nation just waiting to be discovered
It's Sunday morning and I'm standing in a taro patch. In front of us, Dirradai Uai Skebong bends and hacks at a sea of lurid green stalks with a machete, her dog sniffing idly at our feet. Eventually she reaches down and, with an audible heave, pulls an enormous taro root from the mud. This is the Airai Cultural Tour, our first stop on our first morning in Palau. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful introduction to the tiny Micronesian island nation. The air is thick with a tropical dewiness, dialling up the saturated colour of the surrounding hilly jungle, and brightly detailed Palauan houses with their blend of traditional and contemporary styling. Skebong holds up the root for us to inspect. It glistens with mud. Suddenly, there's a thunderous roar. Behind Skebong, framed by the trees at the end of her plot, a Qantas 737 surges into the sky, seemingly close enough to touch. Instinctively, we wave. The plane last night delivered us from Brisbane, and is off on its return leg. It will be a week before the little Boeing returns. In December Qantas took over this route, dubbed the Palau Paradise Express, from Nauru Airlines. The Palau Paradise Express is just one small part of a comprehensive investment package in the Pacific by the Australian government via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Qantas will tell you it saw an immediate surge in searches for Palau after it announced it was taking over the service. That's translating into bums on seats – hence why I'm here with a bunch of other journalists. 'We're a known brand in Australia and I think we naturally resonate with Australians,' said Kathryn Robertson, when asked what landed the national carrier the contract for the route. Robertson is Qantas' executive general manager of sales and distribution, and was at Brisbane Airport the day before as part of the service's official launch. Loading 'The strength of our network and our frequent flyer offering are all factors that would help generate that demand for customers to want to go [to Palau] with Qantas.' Also at the airport (and on our flight) was Palau's president, Surangel Samuel Whipps jnr. The American-born Whipps is an easy mix of political charm and Pacific island insouciance. He, of course, wants Australians to flock to Palau and spruiks it effortlessly. 'We want more tourists from North America, Europe and Australia,' Whipps jnr said. 'I mentioned in the press conference just now a study that Cornell [University] did, which evaluated that Australians are the best target market for Palau because they're high spending, they care about the environment and they're adventurers. 'They love nature and that's what Palau has to offer.' He's not wrong. Our itinerary for the first few days immerses us in some of the most jaw-dropping scenery I've experienced in 11 years of travel journalism. Palau is a nation of about 340 islands scattered across 466 square kilometres, and there's little doubt it's best experienced on the water. On our second morning we venture out with Neco Marine on a shaded dive boat to explore the surrounding marine sanctuary. First stop? The Milky Way, we're told. But this one's in the water. The dive boat surges along before veering towards a maze of islands that sprout, mushroom-like, from the sea. The boat leans this way and that – left-right-left – densely forested limestone cliffs whizzing by, almost close enough to touch, before powering down and floating serenely into a narrow, secluded lagoon. I stand and remove my sunglasses. The water around us pops with a rich turquoise that almost glows in the gentle morning light. I've never seen anything like it. This shallow retreat with its rich limestone mud seafloor is considered by locals a natural spa. We dive in. The water (and creamy sludge beneath) carries a whiff of sulfur, and the sea lice are soon attacking my armpits. But enveloped in its gentle warmth, I hardly care. For the rest of the day we hop around the water park to different snorkelling spots. I haven't made time for a dive on this trip – a decision I regret as I slip under the waves and into an entirely different world. We float with the current over reefs stacked in a kaleidoscope of coral, schools of triggerfish, parrotfish and convict surgeonfish, the occasional curious reef shark eyeballing us from a distance. For 10 minutes I tail a hawksbill turtle as it dives and surfaces, moseying around for food. It's special stuff. Not so great is a trip to Jellyfish Lake, a marine lake on Eil Malk Island. A swim among its thousands of harmless jellyfish is a Palau calling card – and is presented as a highlight on our Palau Visitor Authority itinerary – but as we approach the island's pontoon our guides become reticent, and then reluctant for us to get off the dive boat. The jellyfish are gone, they eventually concede, victims of a reef bleaching incident in 2017. We stand, silent and confused, before deciding to tackle the short hike to the lake anyway. Turns out, the guides are right – the luminous golden jellyfish from the brochures are nowhere to be seen. All we find is the occasional moon jellyfish (also harmless). It's a bust, although the jellyfish populations are expected to rebound in the coming years. It's not the only clumsy moment. Palau is still getting used to welcoming visitors, it seems, and a couple of otherwise professionally run tours maybe go on for too long, or suffer from a lack of briefing – particularly a half-day kayak around the islands that leaves us exhausted rather than exhilarated. You see it in the accommodation, too, with the two hotels in which we stay – Palau Pacific Resort and Cove Resort – a half step below what you'd find elsewhere in the Pacific, even if the service at both is smiling, helpful and professional (and we're told there are holiday rentals scattered among the slick modern homes that sit in the bucolic hills overlooking Koror). The food is better. We're treated to capably elevated Euro-inflected cuisine at the Elilai restaurant and bar, homely Japanese at picture-book cute Tori Tori, and unctuous, spice-packed Indian at buzzy Taj Palau. None are groundbreaking, but all make the most of local produce to present tasty food at a good price. Palau's other major attraction for Western visitors is its modern history, and in particular its setting as a major battleground during the Second World War. Japan occupied Palau from 1914 until General Douglas MacArthur decided to take the islands in preparation for an invasion of the Philippines. Two months of vicious combat followed. We learn about the battle towards the end of our stay on a tour of the island of Peleliu, to the south-west of Palau's main archipelago, where evidence of the carnage is scattered throughout the jungle. We walk through an expansive Japanese bunker and investigate an eerie, vine-covered former headquarters. The showstopper, though, is a short hike along a rainforest trail, the trees parting to reveal the unmistakable hulk of a derelict American Sherman tank. We're told the tank crawled over a landmine and was launched down a hill beyond, coming to rest on its side in this root-strewn clearing. You can imagine the thunder and chaos of that evening; now, the tank is a ghostly relic, the only noise the gentle patter of raindrops on its mangled hull. As we travel back to the mainland we come across more American military hardware, this time modern and very much in use. US Marine Corps engineers have been busy repairing and now extending the old Japanese airfield. The joint-use runway will be used by locals but also the US military, which views it as critical to its strategic capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. It's a stark reminder that, despite its diminutive size, Palau is caught in a game of strategic aid being played across the region between China, and the US and its traditional allies. Some of the marines are staying at our resort. That evening I chat to a young sergeant about how he views this quiet arm wrestle. 'The feedback we generally get from people across the region is, yes, China is investing a lot,' he says, 'but they don't engage as much on a community level. I think that gives us an edge.' His words ring in my head on our final day as I take in Palau from above via a scenic flight with Smile Air. I look down at the azure seas and vivid jungle, and think about all we've experienced. Palau's unique marine ecology has been deemed of universal value by UNESCO, but the country's geographical position as the 'anchor' of the Second Island Chain means it's of geopolitical value for the US, and indeed Australia. In the short to medium term, that will likely mean more and more visitors coming to investigate this stunning corner of the Pacific. Maybe try to beat them to it.
Sydney Morning Herald
24-05-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The stunning Pacific island nation just waiting to be discovered
It's Sunday morning and I'm standing in a taro patch. In front of us, Dirradai Uai Skebong bends and hacks at a sea of lurid green stalks with a machete, her dog sniffing idly at our feet. Eventually she reaches down and, with an audible heave, pulls an enormous taro root from the mud. This is the Airai Cultural Tour, our first stop on our first morning in Palau. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful introduction to the tiny Micronesian island nation. The air is thick with a tropical dewiness, dialling up the saturated colour of the surrounding hilly jungle, and brightly detailed Palauan houses with their blend of traditional and contemporary styling. Skebong holds up the root for us to inspect. It glistens with mud. Suddenly, there's a thunderous roar. Behind Skebong, framed by the trees at the end of her plot, a Qantas 737 surges into the sky, seemingly close enough to touch. Instinctively, we wave. The plane last night delivered us from Brisbane, and is off on its return leg. It will be a week before the little Boeing returns. In December Qantas took over this route, dubbed the Palau Paradise Express, from Nauru Airlines. The Palau Paradise Express is just one small part of a comprehensive investment package in the Pacific by the Australian government via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Qantas will tell you it saw an immediate surge in searches for Palau after it announced it was taking over the service. That's translating into bums on seats – hence why I'm here with a bunch of other journalists. 'We're a known brand in Australia and I think we naturally resonate with Australians,' said Kathryn Robertson, when asked what landed the national carrier the contract for the route. Robertson is Qantas' executive general manager of sales and distribution, and was at Brisbane Airport the day before as part of the service's official launch. Loading 'The strength of our network and our frequent flyer offering are all factors that would help generate that demand for customers to want to go [to Palau] with Qantas.' Also at the airport (and on our flight) was Palau's president, Surangel Samuel Whipps jnr. The American-born Whipps is an easy mix of political charm and Pacific island insouciance. He, of course, wants Australians to flock to Palau and spruiks it effortlessly. 'We want more tourists from North America, Europe and Australia,' Whipps jnr said. 'I mentioned in the press conference just now a study that Cornell [University] did, which evaluated that Australians are the best target market for Palau because they're high spending, they care about the environment and they're adventurers. 'They love nature and that's what Palau has to offer.' He's not wrong. Our itinerary for the first few days immerses us in some of the most jaw-dropping scenery I've experienced in 11 years of travel journalism. Palau is a nation of about 340 islands scattered across 466 square kilometres, and there's little doubt it's best experienced on the water. On our second morning we venture out with Neco Marine on a shaded dive boat to explore the surrounding marine sanctuary. First stop? The Milky Way, we're told. But this one's in the water. The dive boat surges along before veering towards a maze of islands that sprout, mushroom-like, from the sea. The boat leans this way and that – left-right-left – densely forested limestone cliffs whizzing by, almost close enough to touch, before powering down and floating serenely into a narrow, secluded lagoon. I stand and remove my sunglasses. The water around us pops with a rich turquoise that almost glows in the gentle morning light. I've never seen anything like it. This shallow retreat with its rich limestone mud seafloor is considered by locals a natural spa. We dive in. The water (and creamy sludge beneath) carries a whiff of sulfur, and the sea lice are soon attacking my armpits. But enveloped in its gentle warmth, I hardly care. For the rest of the day we hop around the water park to different snorkelling spots. I haven't made time for a dive on this trip – a decision I regret as I slip under the waves and into an entirely different world. We float with the current over reefs stacked in a kaleidoscope of coral, schools of triggerfish, parrotfish and convict surgeonfish, the occasional curious reef shark eyeballing us from a distance. For 10 minutes I tail a hawksbill turtle as it dives and surfaces, moseying around for food. It's special stuff. Not so great is a trip to Jellyfish Lake, a marine lake on Eil Malk Island. A swim among its thousands of harmless jellyfish is a Palau calling card – and is presented as a highlight on our Palau Visitor Authority itinerary – but as we approach the island's pontoon our guides become reticent, and then reluctant for us to get off the dive boat. The jellyfish are gone, they eventually concede, victims of a reef bleaching incident in 2017. We stand, silent and confused, before deciding to tackle the short hike to the lake anyway. Turns out, the guides are right – the luminous golden jellyfish from the brochures are nowhere to be seen. All we find is the occasional moon jellyfish (also harmless). It's a bust, although the jellyfish populations are expected to rebound in the coming years. It's not the only clumsy moment. Palau is still getting used to welcoming visitors, it seems, and a couple of otherwise professionally run tours maybe go on for too long, or suffer from a lack of briefing – particularly a half-day kayak around the islands that leaves us exhausted rather than exhilarated. You see it in the accommodation, too, with the two hotels in which we stay – Palau Pacific Resort and Cove Resort – a half step below what you'd find elsewhere in the Pacific, even if the service at both is smiling, helpful and professional (and we're told there are holiday rentals scattered among the slick modern homes that sit in the bucolic hills overlooking Koror). The food is better. We're treated to capably elevated Euro-inflected cuisine at the Elilai restaurant and bar, homely Japanese at picture-book cute Tori Tori, and unctuous, spice-packed Indian at buzzy Taj Palau. None are groundbreaking, but all make the most of local produce to present tasty food at a good price. Palau's other major attraction for Western visitors is its modern history, and in particular its setting as a major battleground during the Second World War. Japan occupied Palau from 1914 until General Douglas MacArthur decided to take the islands in preparation for an invasion of the Philippines. Two months of vicious combat followed. We learn about the battle towards the end of our stay on a tour of the island of Peleliu, to the south-west of Palau's main archipelago, where evidence of the carnage is scattered throughout the jungle. We walk through an expansive Japanese bunker and investigate an eerie, vine-covered former headquarters. The showstopper, though, is a short hike along a rainforest trail, the trees parting to reveal the unmistakable hulk of a derelict American Sherman tank. We're told the tank crawled over a landmine and was launched down a hill beyond, coming to rest on its side in this root-strewn clearing. You can imagine the thunder and chaos of that evening; now, the tank is a ghostly relic, the only noise the gentle patter of raindrops on its mangled hull. As we travel back to the mainland we come across more American military hardware, this time modern and very much in use. US Marine Corps engineers have been busy repairing and now extending the old Japanese airfield. The joint-use runway will be used by locals but also the US military, which views it as critical to its strategic capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. It's a stark reminder that, despite its diminutive size, Palau is caught in a game of strategic aid being played across the region between China, and the US and its traditional allies. Some of the marines are staying at our resort. That evening I chat to a young sergeant about how he views this quiet arm wrestle. 'The feedback we generally get from people across the region is, yes, China is investing a lot,' he says, 'but they don't engage as much on a community level. I think that gives us an edge.' His words ring in my head on our final day as I take in Palau from above via a scenic flight with Smile Air. I look down at the azure seas and vivid jungle, and think about all we've experienced. Palau's unique marine ecology has been deemed of universal value by UNESCO, but the country's geographical position as the 'anchor' of the Second Island Chain means it's of geopolitical value for the US, and indeed Australia. In the short to medium term, that will likely mean more and more visitors coming to investigate this stunning corner of the Pacific. Maybe try to beat them to it.
Reuters
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Inside the U.S. battle with China over an island paradise deep in the Pacific
PALAU, Western Pacific - The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau, where brutal World War Two clashes once unfolded, is again on the frontline as China and the United States and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic island nation of just 17,000 people hosts American-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the U.S. military describes as 'critical' to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the Second Island Chain, a string of strategically located islets that America is fortifying in an effort to deny China access to the Western Pacific. Now, that outsized strategic value has made Palau the target of a concerted influence campaign by individuals with ties to the Chinese government, according to intelligence reports, police files, court records and land filings reviewed by Reuters, as well as interviews with more than 20 diplomats and local law enforcement officials. At the same time, the once-sleepy island nation has been transformed into a hub of illegal activity, rife with drug smuggling, online gambling operations, money laundering and prostitution allegedly linked to Chinese individuals and syndicates. This activity has brought with it a gruesome killing – including the transporting of a corpse in a suitcase – and a well-orchestrated kidnapping whose target is believed to be in a Chinese prison after having been forcibly smuggled out of Palau by boat. Some of these Chinese individuals have cultivated close ties to senior political figures on Palau, making 'donations' to some of them, according to two intelligence reports distributed to Palauan officials by the local U.S. embassy. These individuals have also allegedly facilitated meetings between Chinese officials and Palauan politicians. In one instance, a Chinese official associated with the United Front Work Department, the body that oversees Beijing's foreign influence activities, met with Palau's current vice president, according to one of the U.S. intelligence reports. The vice president, Raynold Oilouch, didn't respond to questions about the alleged meeting. An effort also appears to be underway to block the expansion of U.S. military installations on Palau, which include radar stations and airstrips built to service military aircraft. A review of land records by Reuters reveals that Chinese businesspeople and Chinese-linked businesses have leased land overlooking or adjacent to some of these American military facilities. Joel Ehrendreich, the U.S. ambassador to Palau, says China is using the same tactics in Palau that it has deployed elsewhere in the Pacific. Sitting in an office packed with baseball memorabilia and Palauan carvings of dugongs, a chubby sea mammal, he warns that Beijing is using organized crime to infiltrate Palau, buy the backing of political leaders and establish a foothold on the island. It's illegal for foreigners to make political donations, but the only evidence my office has received is via anonymous sources... Everyone knows foreigners give money, but without evidence our hands are tied. 'We've seen the playbook over and over again throughout the region, and it's been very effective,' Ehrendreich said in an interview. 'Get in with predatory investment, corrupt officials through elite capture, and try to destabilize the society through drug and human trafficking and other crime. And it's easy to do when you go one by one through these little countries that you can overwhelm.' Claims that China is undermining Palau's stability or interfering in its elections 'are far-fetched, slanderous, and completely fabricated nonsense,' a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said in response to questions from Reuters. 'Who is building military bases in Palau? Who wants to turn Palau into a strategic military outpost?' the spokesperson added. 'We urge the U.S. side to stop smearing and slandering China … and stop provoking trouble in the region.' The island, which is geographically closer to China than any other Pacific Island nation, is also one of the few countries that still formally recognize Taiwan. China has spent decades successfully persuading countries not to recognize democratically governed Taiwan, which Beijing views as part of China. Asked about Palau's relationship with Taipei, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson urged countries that 'still maintain so-called 'diplomatic relations' with the Taiwan region not to be blindly arrogant and stubborn.' Surangel Whipps Jr., Palau's president, didn't respond to questions for this story. Speaking at a think tank in Sydney earlier this month, he addressed the issue of crime on the island: 'Drugs, human trafficking, all of these kinds of activities have a way of undermining the political structure,' he said. 'Online scamming or gaming that happens, they end up influencing politicians and things that go on in Palau.' A tangled web of Chinese influence efforts and illicit activity emerges from the U.S. intelligence reports and other documents reviewed by Reuters, and from interviews with local law enforcement officials. Take Hokkons Baules, the president of the Palauan Senate, who has been one of the island's most vociferous advocates for China. Under his leadership, the senate has passed resolutions criticizing U.S. military activity in Palau, while he has personally advocated for expanded ties with China. 'We want to go with China, because we need a lot of help with infrastructure,' Baules told Reuters. He added that Palau should drop its recognition of Taiwan. At the same time, Baules has allegedly built relationships with Chinese investors, including a man named Sun Maojin, who runs a technology company that lists state-controlled research centers and universities in China as partners on its website. In November 2023, Sun flew to the island with several associates and $119,000 in cash, according to flight records, photos reviewed by Reuters, and three Palauan law enforcement officials. When Sun was questioned by customs officials for failing to disclose the money, Baules called one customs officer to ask for his release, according to the officials. 'These guys are my friends,' Baules allegedly said, and added that they were in Palau to lease land. The officials said Sun was released after paying a fine. Palau's Land Court has no records of a transaction between Baules and Sun. Baules said he doesn't recall the incident. Sun didn't respond to questions sent to his company. Baules pleaded guilty to heroin trafficking in 1989. Corporate records reviewed by Reuters show that his family operates a local business called Fuji Restaurant, which Palauan authorities have linked to Chinese criminal activity. The family rented out space in the building between 2018 and 2020 to Chinese brothels masquerading as massage parlors, according to legal filings related to another case that were submitted by Palau's anti-corruption office. None of the Baules family face charges in that case. Baules insisted that the brothels were massage parlors. 'It's not my business, it's their business,' he said of the Chinese businesspeople his family rented space to. The address of Fuji Restaurant was also on a package of methamphetamine that was intercepted at Manila airport last year, according to local press reports in the Philippines. The reports stated that the intended recipient was a Chinese man in Palau. Based on an estimate from Palauan law enforcement officials, the stash had a street value of at least $83,000. No charges were filed in the case. Baules dismissed the allegations, telling Reuters he was the target of a smear campaign aimed at ruining his name. The senate leader also has ties to prominent Chinese figures on the island, including Hunter Tian, the president of Palau's Overseas Chinese Association, which promotes the interests of Chinese residents on the island. Baules has leased land to Tian for a hotel Tian runs, land court records show. In 2023, Tian participated in training courses in Beijing and Nanjing that were organized by the Chinese government for overseas Chinese leaders, according to promotional material from three pro-Beijing Chinese diaspora groups. The course in Beijing was run by a group under the authority of the United Front Work Department, the body that oversees China's foreign influence efforts, according to the material. The course in Nanjing was attended by United Front officials. Tian didn't reply to questions sent to a lawyer who has done legal work for him. Baules described Tian as 'a good guy.' The authorities 'have not filed any case against him,' Baules said. The U.S. intelligence reports, one from last September and the other from November, also assert that Chinese businesspeople gave tens of thousands of dollars in cash to politicians ahead of elections last year in Palau. According to one of the reports, Wang Yubin, a Chinese citizen who is secretary of Palau's Overseas Chinese Association, agreed to donate $20,000 to Thomas Remengesau Jr, a former president seeking another term, and donated $10,000 to Oilouch, who was running to be vice president. Remengesau lost his race. Oilouch won and is now Palau's vice president. Wang didn't respond to questions for this story. Many Palauans rely on the surrounding sea for food and for pleasure. Now, many worry that their strategic position in the Pacific Ocean has made them a target. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Palau's economy is heavily reliant on tourists, the bulk of whom come from Asian nations. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Hundreds of Palauans serve in the U.S. military, which has left a patriotic imprint on many residents. Here, a local in a U.S. Army hat watches customers at a popular bakery. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Even as criminal activity intensifies, Palau often maintains an idyllic atmosphere, with many residents taking advantage of its beaches and warm waters. REUTERS/Hollie Adams The intelligence reports describe the donations as 'illegal' or 'illicit' campaign funding. Tamara Hutzler, the country's anti-corruption prosecutor, said political donations by foreign nationals are illegal in Palau. 'The only evidence my office has received is via anonymous sources,' she said. 'Everyone knows foreigners give money, but without evidence our hands are tied.' 'The corruption is just pervasive,' added Hutzler. It is tough to combat, she said, in part because law enforcement lacked resources. Oilouch told Reuters he had 'never received a penny' from a foreigner for his political campaigns. As an attorney, he said, he had represented foreign clients, but as vice-president he was 'actively removing' himself from all cases. Remengesau said accusations he had received donations from Chinese businesspeople were 'ridiculous.' People in Palau, he said, 'know that I don't mix government with business.' The family of at least one top politician has benefited from American investment in Palau. A company registered under the name of the father of Surangel Whipps Jr., Palau's president, has been awarded at least 41 Department of Defense contracts worth approximately $6 million, largely related to construction services, according to a Reuters review of a federal database. This makes the company one of the largest commercial Palauan beneficiaries of U.S. contracts. Remengesau, who is Whipps' brother-in-law and ran against him for the presidency last year, said 'conflict of interest' situations should be avoided. Whipps didn't respond to questions about the contracts. Ehrendreich, the U.S. ambassador, said that 'given the small size of Palau and the significant role of the Whipps family's businesses in this country, contracting and procurement with them is inevitable.' Ann Singeo, Palau's most prominent environmentalist: 'You just feel like they're using you as a war shield.' REUTERS/Hollie Adams AMERICAN INFLUENCE Palau feels as if it has been transplanted from the United States, which administered the country's 300 or so islets for half a century after capturing them from Japan in World War Two. The former colony won independence in 1994, but remains deeply tied to and dependent on the U.S. Many locals speak with an American accent after having spent years working in the U.S. – or the 'mainland,' as many Palauans refer to it. Palauans can work without a visa in the U.S. due to a treaty called the Compact of Free Association. Similar agreements bind the island states of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands to the U.S. Together, the compacts give Washington responsibility for defending these territories and funding large parts of their governments. In exchange, the U.S. gets exclusive military access to vast swathes of the Pacific. The connections to America are particularly resonant on Palau's southern islands of Peleliu and Angaur. The two isles were sites of bloody World War Two battles in which more than 12,000 U.S. soldiers were killed or wounded while trying to displace Japanese troops. Scattered through the jungle, the blackened and rusted remnants of Japanese tanks and fortifications can still be seen today. Many of the 100 or so residents of Angaur have relatives serving in the American military. U.S. law permits citizens of Palau and two other former colonies in the Pacific to enlist like Americans. In a nod to that relationship, residents have nicknamed their island 'the United States of Angaur.' Japanese fortifications and weapons like this tank speckle the islands: a legacy of the vicious clashes that consumed Palau during World War Two as Japan and the United States fought for control of the Pacific. REUTERS/Hollie Adams The American flag flies at the U.S. embassy. Despite its status as an independent country, Palau remains deeply tied to and dependent on the United States. REUTERS/Hollie Adams In 2017, the U.S. military announced plans to build radar facilities in Angaur and other Palauan islands. Later, it began redeveloping multiple airstrips. The facilities will allow the U.S. to disperse its forces in anticipation of a strike by China on American strategic hubs like Guam, and to monitor air traffic in the region without tying up ships or aircraft to do so. Soon, Angaur began attracting attention from Chinese entities. Multiple media outlets reported that in 2019, Wan Kuok Koi, a former leader of the powerful Chinese triad called 14K, visited Palau with the goal of leasing land on Angaur and opening a casino there. Foreign nationals cannot purchase land in Palau, but they can lease it for decades-long periods. In 2020, the U.S. Treasury identified Wan, known as Broken Tooth, as a leader of the triad and sanctioned him for leading an entity engaged in 'corruption.' The sanctions notice alleged that he was a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a largely ceremonial advisory body of China's parliament. A photo published in local media shows Broken Tooth meeting with Remengesau, who was president of Palau at the time. Remengesau said he wasn't aware of Broken Tooth's identity during their meeting. 'You don't know who these people are, but you have to be polite and give them the time of day,' he said. Broken Tooth's efforts were stymied when Palauan officials learned he was a triad leader, according to Remengesau. The former triad boss didn't respond to questions sent to a lawyer who has represented him in criminal cases. Erik Vereen is a state legislator and boat captain on Angaur, the site of a U.S. military development and focus of significant Chinese attention. 'We're afraid that we've painted a big bullseye on our island,' he said. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Angaur residents interviewed this month said no Chinese nationals have succeeded in acquiring land there. 'It would never happen,' said Erik Vereen, an Angaur legislator. 'There's no land to be leased.' Court records, however, show that Chinese individuals have leased large swathes of communally owned land on Angaur. Tian, the president of the Overseas Chinese Association, has acquired roughly 280,000 square meters of land on Angaur, including a large plot abutting the island's airstrip. The U.S. subsequently announced plans to develop a radar station next to the airstrip. Another set of land registry documents show that an investor named Zhuang Cizhong leased a further 380,000 square meters of land near the airstrip. Zhuang acquired the land after the U.S. announced its development plans. Together, Tian and Zhuang's holdings amount to about 8% of Angaur's landmass. Neither appears to have developed the land. When told about the leases, Angaur legislator Vereen said he felt 'a hundred percent betrayed.' Reuters was unable to contact Zhuang. Lease records and interviews with environmental regulators also reveal that a company connected to the Prince Group, a Chinese-Cambodian conglomerate, has acquired an islet near a new U.S. coastal monitoring station in the Palauan region of Kayangel. Lease records and a visit to the site by Reuters revealed that another company connected to the Prince Group is also developing a piece of land near Palau's airport, which the U.S. uses for military exercises. Corporate filings show that the local agent in Palau for one of these companies is Rose Wang. She is a former vice president of Palau's Overseas Chinese Association, according to one of the U.S. intelligence reports. In 2019, according to the association's social media, Wang was among prominent diaspora Chinese representatives to attend celebrations in Beijing's Great Hall of the People to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Wang and the Prince Group didn't respond to questions for this story. Some of the companies tied to the Prince Group in Palau were first flagged in a recent report by Pacific Economics, an American consultancy that has studied foreign investment in Palau. The U.S. military is building new facilities from the tip of Palau to its tail. On the islet of Peleliu (left), it has redeveloped an old World War Two airstrip. On the isle of Angaur, it is constructing a radar station. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Ehrendreich, the U.S. ambassador, said the leases were almost certainly strategic. 'All around there are various plots of land that are now being leased to Chinese interests,' he said of Angaur. 'I don't think it's any coincidence at all that it happens to be physically close to our projects.' The land-lease tactic, he said, was 'how they maybe are able to keep an eye on what we're trying to do here.' China's foreign ministry didn't respond to specific questions about the land leases. BODY IN A SUITCASE Since 2019, hundreds of foreign nationals from China and Southeast Asia have travelled to Palau to work in online gambling and scam centers. Despite regular busts by Palauan law enforcement, the centers have continued to thrive. At the same time, there has been a boom in methamphetamine trafficking and violent crime. Women finish their night at a bar on Koror's waterfront. REUTERS/Hollie Adams Late one evening in February 2023, a black Mazda pulled up in Koror, the main town, according to local media reports and a law enforcement official who described CCTV footage of the incident. Two men got out and seized a Chinese expatriate named Chen Liyan. They bundled Chen into their car and drove to a marina packed with private boats on the outskirts of town. They parked beside a fishing vessel, which later headed out to sea. Palau's government later learned that China had issued an arrest warrant for Chen, a local law enforcement official told Reuters. According to Chinese media reports, police accused Chen, a former Chinese village official, of overseeing organized criminal gangs. The reports said China had offered a bounty of roughly $68,000 for Chen. The official told Reuters that China had informed them Chen was now imprisoned in the Chinese province of Jiangxi. Chen's disappearance is still under investigation in Palau. His kidnapping is one of several recent incidents that have spooked locals. Leilani Reklai, the editor of Palau's main newspaper, is scared by the surge in Chinese crime. REUTERS/Hollie Adams In 2023, a Chinese man named Fang Ye disappeared from the American Pacific territory of Saipan, where prosecutors accused him of smuggling methamphetamine. Several months later, according to Palauan police files reviewed by Reuters, Fang surfaced in Palau, where he took an upstairs room at an apartment building in central Koror. There, Fang met Li Peng, a Chinese boat captain and longtime Palauan resident. A tenant of the room below later told police that she heard noises 'like a bowling ball rolling across the floor,' which continued for at least 40 minutes. In CCTV footage from that evening reviewed by Reuters, three men – whom investigators identified as Fang and two associates – can be seen carrying a suitcase to a car. The next day, at least two of the men drove into the Palauan wilderness with the suitcase. In 2023, a man wanted in Saipan for methamphetamine smuggling surfaced in Palau and met with a local Chinese boat captain in CK Mansion, shown here. The captain's corpse was later found half-burned in the Palauan wilderness. REUTERS/Hollie Adams CCTV footage shows three men carrying a large suitcase out of CK Mansion. The suitcase was later found with a dead body. Reuters verified the location and date of the footage. A local Palauan spotted the men and reported them to police – who later discovered the suitcase with boat captain Li's dead body, which had been set on fire. According to a written briefing prepared for Palau's president, which Reuters reviewed, the killing was motivated by a dispute over a drug smuggling route between Saipan and Guam. Related Content Palau, escaping Trump tariffs, says strong US good for Pacific Fang was arrested and accepted a plea deal in which he did not contest a manslaughter charge. He has since been extradited back to Saipan, where he pleaded guilty to methamphetamine trafficking. Reuters was unable to contact Fang or a legal representative. Palauan authorities have taken some steps in recent months to combat Chinese organized crime. In December, President Whipps empowered his national security advisor to scrutinize visa applications and renewals. The advisor subsequently barred at least 91 people from the country, according to a review of government lists of prohibited people. Surangel Whipps Jr., the country's president, told a Sydney thinktank this month that the surge in crime on Palau ends up "influencing politicians.' REUTERS/Jeremy Piper A Palau-Taiwan friendship plaque in front of the island nation's Capitol Building. Palau is one of a small number of countries that still formally recognize Taiwan. REUTERS/Hollie Adams 'Whether that organized crime is government-sanctioned or whether it's just those individuals, we need to work together to stop them,' Whipps said about the country's crime problem during his recent visit to Sydney. 'We do know China has one goal, and that is for us to renounce Taiwan. But we hope that they understand that that decision is a sovereign decision and no country tells us who we should be friends with.' Related Content T-DAY: The battle for Taiwan US Pacific commander to advocate 'most strongly' for USAID to Pacific Islands Ehrendreich lauded the Palau crackdown as evidence of 'a new level' of the island's willingness and ability 'to start dealing with their Chinese organized crime problem.' The crime boom, however, has spooked residents who wonder whether the latest measures will be effective. Some also worry about getting caught between the two superpowers. 'The U.S. military presence in Palau is a good thing,' said Vereen, the state legislator, who works as a boat operator at the radar facility on Angaur. But, he added, Palauans still remember from World War Two how they can be drawn into a ferocious conflict. 'We're afraid that we've painted a big bullseye on our island,' he said. Reuters traveled to Palau to see the reality of a contest for regional supremacy between the United States and China. REUTERS/Hollie Adams and Zachary Goelman Reporting by Pete McKenzie. Additional reporting by the Beijing newsroom. Photos and video by Hollie Adams. Video editing by Zachary Goelman, Francesca Lynagh, Holly Murtha and Mía Womersley. Photo editing by Edgar Su. Graphics by Jitesh Chowdhury and Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa. Design by Catherine Tai. Edited by Peter Hirschberg. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics: Investigates
Japan Times
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Palau stands with Taiwan 'until death do us part,' President Whipps says
Pacific nation Palau will not cave to diplomatic pressure from China and will remain an ally of Taiwan "until death do us part," President Surangel Whipps said Thursday. One of the few remaining nations to recognize Taiwan's claim to statehood, Palau has repeatedly risked Beijing's ire over the years by refusing to reverse its stance. "China has one goal, and that is for us to renounce Taiwan," Whipps said during a speech at an Australian think tank on Thursday. "But we hope that they understand — that decision is a sovereign decision and no country tells us who we should be friends with. "We kind of believe in that principle, that when you're married, you're married until death do us part." The Palauan archipelago — a string of limestone islands and coral atolls — lies about 800 kilometers east of the Philippines. Whipps has overseen the expansion of U.S. military interests since winning power in 2020. This has included the ongoing construction of a long-range U.S. radar outpost, a crucial early warning system as China ramps up military activity in the Taiwan Strait. Palau also plans to dredge sections of its commercial port, making it deeper to allow more visits from U.S. Navy ships. This risked painting a target on Palau's back, Whipps said on Thursday. "Yes, there is concern that now we become a target," he told Australia's Lowy Institute. "I think that's why it's important that the ports and the airports are upgraded so that we are ready to be protected if a conflict does arise. "Because of our location, no matter what, we're going to be a target for somebody." While Taiwan sees itself as sovereign, most nations, including the United States, do not recognise its claim to statehood and instead have formal diplomatic ties with China.
