Palau Invites U.S. to Build Military Base as China Pushes into Pacific

News Snapshot:

September 5, 2020 U.S. Pentagon chief Mark Esper visited Palau last week as part of a tour of the Pacific. It was the first-ever visit to the island by a U.S. defense secretary. During his visit, Esper accused Beijing of a “malign influence” in the region marked by “ongoing destabilizing activities” in the western Pacific Ocean. Palau President Tommy Remengesau Jr. revealed this week that he sent a hand-delivered letter to Esper during his stay on Palau in which he urged the U.S. to build military infrastructure on the islands, which constitute an archipelago roughly 930 miles east of the...