<
https://theconversation.com/the-us-isnt-the-only-country-voting-on-nov-5-this-small-pacific-nation-is-also-holding-an-election-and-china-is-watching-237321>
"The United States isn’t the only country with a big election on November 5.
Palau, a tourism-dependent microstate in the north Pacific, will also vote for
a new president, Senate and House of Delegates that day.
Why does this election matter? Palau is one of the few remaining countries that
has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
In addition, elections in the Pacific – and the horse-trading to form
government that follows – often present a chance for China to steal an ally
away from Taiwan in its efforts to further reduce the self-ruling island’s
diplomatic space.
For example, there was speculation Tuvalu could flip its allegiance from Taipei
to Beijing based on the outcome of January’s election, but the government
decided to remain in Taiwan’s camp.
Another Pacific nation, Nauru, did flip from Taiwan to China in January, less
than 48 hours after Taiwan’s own presidential election.
I recently visited Palau as part of a research project examining China’s
growing extraterritorial reach, and was curious to see if the balance is
shifting towards Beijing in the lead-up to this year’s election."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
