Palau Says China Exerting "New Level" Of Pressure

Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. has told Nikkei Asia that pressure from China is reaching a "new level" after a tourism delegation was recently denied entry to Macao and as the Pacific island-nation investigates a suspicious cyberattack this month targeting customs and border functions, Shaun Turton reported for Nikkei Asia.

The small country of about 20,000 people was the subject of a major ransomware attack in March, a breach Whipps said experts had traced back to China. I Photo: Office of the President, Republic of Palau Facebook

Palau is among the few remaining countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan and is one of three states in free association with the US, which provides a security guarantee and economic assistance -- and gets access for its military in return.

The small country of about 20,000 people was the subject of a major ransomware attack in March, which was revealed in June and saw thousands of government documents stolen and released on the dark web.

Whipps said experts had traced the breach back to China.

Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10) in Tokyo, Whipps said that earlier this month another attack had targeted the country's customs and border protection system, which he believed was intended to disrupt tourism arrivals.

But, it failed because the country had recently upgraded its systems with assistance from several partners, including the US, Australia, Japan, and Taiwan to help "protect ourselves."

Both the March and July incidents were ransomware attacks, he said, though no notes or demands were made. Whipps said officials "can't totally confirm" that the attempt to disrupt the immigration system was linked to China "but it sure looks like it."