Palau’s President Whipps wins election, Secures second term

Palau President Surangel Whipps gives an interview in Koror, Palau, on Nov. 12, 2024

Palau’s pro-U.S. leader Surangel Whipps won last week’s presidential election in the Pacific island nation, securing a second term, according to results from its election commission early Wednesday.

The businessman-turned-politician has led Palau, one of Taiwan’s three remaining diplomatic allies in the Pacific, since 2021. He defeated former President Tommy Remengesau in the Nov. 5 election.

Both shared the importance of maintaining diplomatic relations with Taiwan, even as some other Pacific nations had shifted their ties to China in recent years amid its efforts to expand its influence in the region.

Since Palau gained independence from the United States in 1994, it has maintained a Compact of Free Association, an agreement under which it receives economic assistance from the United States and allows the U.S. military access to its territory for its defence.