A senior Palau official has expressed hope for support from Japan for maritime surveillance, saying Chinese maritime research vessels have repeatedly entered Palau’s exclusive economic zone in recent years.
Palau National Security Coordinator Jennifer Anson spoke to NHK ahead of the Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting opening in Tokyo on Tuesday. Representatives from 18 nations and territories in the South Pacific are taking part. Japan has held the meeting once every three years since 1997.
Anson said Palau faced challenges in recent years with Chinese maritime research vessels entering the EEZ and hovering over its underwater fiber optic cable.
Anson also noted that Chinese research vessels repeatedly navigate in parts of Palau’s extended continental shelf claim.
She said the EEZ of 600,000 square kilometers is “quite vast for our small island with our limited resources to be able to monitor, to be able to provide the surveillance that we need to know what’s going on.”
Anson expressed expectations for information-sharing and support from Japan in the field of maritime surveillance, saying Palau does not have the aerial surveillance or satellite imagery to track the vessels.
She stressed the importance of this week’s leaders meeting amid China’s growing influence in the region.
Anson said many other participating members are very close partners with China, and do not want to say “anything bad about China.”
But she expressed hope that the meeting will provide an opportunity to share their experiences with China.