Outgoing Micronesia President David Panuelo accuses China of bribery and political interference

The outgoing president of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), David Panuelo, in a letter has accused China of "political warfare" in the Pacific nation and of bribing Palikir officials. Just two months before his presidency comes to an end, Panuelo said, "China is seeking to ensure that, in the event of a war in our Blue Pacific continent between themselves and Taiwan, that the FSM is, at best, aligned with the PRC [China] instead of the United States, and, at worst, that the FSM chooses to ‘abstain’ altogether."

These revelations come as China seeks to ramp up its efforts to influence the Indo-Pacific region, by creating a war battle with the US and its other allies.

Most of Panuelo’s letter was dedicated to castigating Beijing for its current activities in the FSM.

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Further in his letter to the FSM's Congress and state governors, he suggested on switching the country's diplomatic recognition from Beijing to Taipei, even naming a price to do so, which is $50 million.

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Panuelo said he met Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, back in Feb to solicit from Taiwan what their potential assistance to the FSM could look like if they switch their diplomatic relation to support them instead of Beijing.

"I was transparent with foreign minister Wu; we project we need an injection of approximately $50 million to meet our future needs. We can and will receive this, over a three-year period, if and when we establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan," he said.

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Micronesia is a longstanding ally of the United States, which is wholly responsible for the FSM's defence.

Last year, China signed a controversial security pact with the Solomon Islands, along with Kiribati and made the decision to break ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing.

In response to this, Australia launched high-profile visits to Pacific states, while US president Joe Biden, invited a bunch of leaders to the US-Pacific summit in September, the first event of its kind. Meanwhile, Washington rushed to reopen embassies in Pacific nations that had been closed for decades.

(With inputs from agencies)

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