China Offered Him a Deal. He Said No. | Surangel Whipps Jr.

Every time I have meetings with the Chinese, what they've done is they first tell me how wonderful they are, and then they turn around and say, well, if you don't behave, we'll beat you up. A key strategic location in what's known as the second island chain, Palau was once the site of World War II's bloodiest Pacific battle. Now Palau is one of only 12 nations that diplomatically recognize Taiwan, and one of only three with the unique relationships with the United States, Because of our location, we're always going to be the center of interest. We were always a bullseye. With a population of only 18,000 people, how does Palau maintain its identity and sovereignty? On the ground in Palau for over a week, I found some answers. We believe that every country that has a right to self-determine, we're grateful for the United States for doing that, really being a responsible nation and giving us that right, giving us the freedom of choice. Maybe that comes also from our spiritual growth. God gave us the power of choice. Today, I sit down with Palauan President Sir Angle Whips Jr. This meth crisis or cocaine crisis is not only happening in Palau, it's happening all across the Pacific. We know most of it comes on flights that come from Macau and Hong Kong. Palau has a lot of potential, and it's being unlocked in the private sector. But guess by whom? This is American Thought Leaders, and I'm Jan Jekielek. President Sir Angle Whips Jr., such a pleasure to have you on American Thought Leaders. Pleasure is all ours, and welcome to Palau. I've had an absolutely incredible experience here over the past week or so. One of the things I've learned is that you were born in Baltimore, but you actually gave up your American citizenship so you could serve here. I want to get a sense from you, what does this place mean to you? The Palauan Constitution is very clear. You can only be Palauan if your mother or your father is Palauan. And then if you run for public office, you can only be Palauan. I was born in Baltimore. My parents met there. My mother is from Frederick, Maryland. My father convinced her, after they finished college, to move back to the Pacific. We actually first went to Pohnpei for a year, and then we moved back to Palau. And I was only four years old, and we've been here since, except for going to university. So when the time came to where I had to give up my U.S. citizenship, basically the ability to become a U.S. citizen, I talked to my mother about it. And the reality is, we've lived here basically all our lives. And my mother said, this is our home. So even though it felt, at one point, it was having to give up half of me, she understood that this is our home and this is what we've made it. So I feel blessed to be a Palauan, to live in this, we call it, pristine paradise. And one of the things that my father always believed in was, he went to school, but he wanted to come back to help this country develop. And he had a very rough time growing up. His father passed away when he was only one. And then both his step-parents died, adopted parents, who he calls parents, by the time he was seven. And then he kept on moving from family to family. I even tell the story of when he went to get on a ship to go to Guam, there was nobody to see him off, so he went to the other side of the vessel. But he still felt this burning desire to come back. And it wasn't easy, growing up here. My mother, of course, coming from Maryland, it was quite a culture shock. But, you know, some of the things that maybe she enjoyed there helped us start our family business, which we got into groceries and everything from making sure that we have cheese or lettuce or certain kinds of things on the shelf, kind of helped influence the way we ran our business. So I have to say that mix of culture, mixed opportunities allowed us to grow up in a very, I think, challenging at the beginning, but really a land of opportunity. And so that mindset is really what helped for me going. When I did go to university, that was my goal, go get an education, come back as soon as I could, help our family business, but eventually give back and to create those opportunities that my father saw. And my father always said, we've been able to be successful here in Palau, we should try to ensure that every child here that grows up knows that there is potential in Palau and the opportunity is really up to you to carve out. But government should not be impeding, it should be helping support that land of opportunity. And that's why our slogan is Palauan first, but really it's about building the Palauan dream. People grow up and they want to live the American dream. We want kids to understand that Palauan dream is better. And I understand that's actually a challenge here because of, and we'll talk about the compacts of the association, Palauans have a usual ability to travel to the United States, to live there, to work, to serve in the military, which they do just in disproportionate amounts for the population, all of that. And some of them maybe don't want to come back as quickly, but you did, you wanted to be here. And I want to understand at a deeper level where that comes from, even though there's this lure of huge opportunity, say in America and elsewhere. There's something about being part of nation building, being part of something that you can make a big difference in. When I was in grad school at UCLA, my classmates at the time, I was getting my MBA. So a lot of them were going to New York for interviews. They were, you know, Silicon Valley, this is back in 92. So that's where most of the jobs were. And then they asked me, why are you not interviewing? I said, no, I came here to go to school, but my plan was to go back home, help our family business, and then eventually serve the public. And I think my father said it best. He says, don't you want to be a big fish in a small pond than just a fish in a big pond? So I think that that's really the opportunity you have. If you come back home, you can make a difference in your community. And, you know, that's what we want to help our young people understand. The problem is, you're right, when they see you're making $5 an hour, you get off a plane in California, you're working at McDonald's and making $20 an hour. But that $20 an hour in California, and you're paying $2,500 a month for rent for a two bedroom house. You know, you have to put things in perspective, or so much for insurance. And so I think a lot of it is, sometimes people think that the opportunity is great. But you have to put everything in perspective. One of the things we've been working hard here is trying to raise wages, trying to create opportunities that our kids can see that there is a future, because unfortunately, two thirds of our population has moved to the United States over the last 50 years, and partly because of the military. And so one of the things that I've been working hard on is trying to get the US to understand the importance of giving veterans benefits to those who have served to bring them back because they have the skills. My father served in the US Army. They can really contribute to nation building. And just having that confidence to come back home and be able to avail those services is key. We're getting there. It was in this last compact, I think the Veterans Administration is finally seeing the light. But it's also a security issue. If you think about security, these are the people that you want to bring back to the islands, because they have the values, they have the understanding of what it means to fight for freedom and democracy. And that's the kind of people you want here. Palau is in these compacts of free association with two other countries across the Pacific. It's very unique treaty, a deep, deep relationship, I think unique in the world. And so the American presence is significant in different ways. And I guess I want you to help me understand how that manifests here. It's intertwined with everything from the people to people relations that begin with the Peace Corps. For example, I know there's so many Peace Corps that have had a huge impact in Palau, from our Minister of Education, who came in the 70s, was a teacher, went and lived in Guam and Saipan, married a Palauan, came back to retire and help us reform our education system. My favorite story is just a Peace Corps that married a Palauan that ended up, he was a librarian here when he got his PhD in computer science, and then created an online Palauan dictionary where you can just go in and type any word and translate to Palauan or Palauan English and vice versa. So the American influence runs deep. And then it's High Chief Reklai, who is now 94 years old, who was a retired Marine, or High Chief Aibidu, who had passed away, who was also in the Army, and my father, who was also in the Army. So you have that influence. And then you have just what the U.S. has done over the years to help us develop. One of the things people come and when we were going up to the PIF leaders meeting up north, we rode on the Compact Road, and they said, it's a beautiful road. I said, yeah, that was built by the United States under the Compact, and it was a compact, we called it the Compact Road. It's actually been up for 20 years. But, you know, it makes a difference when you have the right specs, good engineering, and it was built really as the interstate system in the U.S. One of the specs was to carry M1 tanks, for example. But, you know, I think a lot of times there's a lot of rhetoric and people that are concerned because, of course, people have the memories of World War II. As you know, Peleliu was the scenes of one of the bloodiest battles, I think the U.S.'s worst casualty rate of any war or battle. That experience, that lived experience for Palauans, makes us want to live in peace and harmony and not experience that again. But the reality is, if you think that way, that's good. But because of our location, we're always going to be the center of interest, geopolitical interest. And so I think what's important is you have to find the right partners to work with, that you share the same values, freedom, democracy, rule of law. And Palau made that decision with the Compact. And that decision was to give our security and denial rights to the United States. And, you know, a lot of people say, well, it's just for the protection of the United States. But I think we also need to understand that it also is for our own protection. When I first met with the U.S. military, we have what we call JCM meetings, joint committee meetings, twice a year with the Defense Department. And the first thing they showed me was they showed a map of the Pacific. They showed all the FAS. And they said, Palau is protected, just like it's part of the homeland. And I think that's an important message for people to understand that the protection of Palau is just like the United States treats it just like Guam or Siena Mai or California. That's the sphere that we're in. And in order for us to be a good partner with the United States to ensure the security of the United States, but also of Palau, is radar sites. People say, well, we've become a bullseye. We were always a bullseye. That's, I think, an important thing that we need to remember. The United States wants to improve our ports, or they want to improve our airports. Well, that is a good thing, because if the United States is ready and capable to defend, we're protected. And I think that's something that we need to help people understand, because a lot of times they don't understand that. And if you want prosperity, and you want growth, you need peace. And the bottom line is, I believe in the theory that President Reagan said was, if you want peace, it comes through strength. And President Trump says the same thing. I think that's an important message for people to understand. This false security that you think that if we're just out here in the Pacific, and nobody's going to be interested in us, and we can just live and be happy, to me is a false sense of security. We need to understand that the world that we live in, there's always going to be competition. And that's why it's so important that we choose our friends, and choose our friends carefully, and then work with them to ensure that they are strong and able, and that we can continue to maintain the peace and prosperity that we have. Folks, if you haven't subscribed yet, I encourage you to do so now. Your support actually helps us come to important places like this, like Palau, and do this reporting that we're doing here. So please support us. It'll mean the world to me. And now back to the interview. It's very interesting. You described Palau as a bullseye. And as we're speaking, we'll put up a little map of the area so people can see exactly where Palau is located in the Second Island Chain, and why it's of such strategic importance to the United States, but not just to the United States, potentially. This was the seat of where the Japanese government set up. It was the South Sea's headquarters for Japan. That's right. And of course, there's other powers that are also very interested. I'm going to read back something that you told me when we first met in front of the One Stop Shop earlier, because I thought it was very pointed. You said you're talking about an interaction you had with the Chinese envoy. You said, if you want someone to love you, usually you come with chocolates and nice cards. But these guys, you start with one sweet word, and if you don't behave, they slap you. And they say that's love, but that's not partnership. You're talking about the importance of partners, so flesh that out for me a little bit. In partnership, it's just like marriage, or just like when you're courting somebody. You try to understand each other. If you're wooing somebody, you definitely want them to understand what your good qualities are, and you definitely want to show that affection. But that's not what we've experienced. Every time I have meetings with the Chinese, what they've done is they first tell me how wonderful they are, and then they turn around and say, well, if you don't behave, we'll beat you up. So I don't know how that translates into trying to woo somebody, but usually that's not the way you woo somebody. That's usually how you end up in prison for beating your wife or other things. So this is what I see as has been a challenge. They've told us, oh, we can build all the hotels you want, bring you a million tourists, but then if you don't switch, then we'll cut off the tourists. This has been the narrative. And just if I may, when you're talking about switching, you're talking about this diplomatic recognition from Taiwan. And they keep on saying what we're doing is illegal. You have to stop doing illegal activities or the one-China principle. Well, obviously Palau recognizes Taiwan, so one-China principle doesn't apply in Palau. It only applies in countries that recognize China. It doesn't apply in Palau, but they continue to tell us that what you're doing is illegal. Well, we believe that every country that has a right to self-determine should be allowed that right. Just like us as a small country, we're able to say we're part of the UN. We have a voice even though we're small. But I was talking to a Chinese diplomat and we were talking about our extended continental shelf, for example. And I was saying, well, there seems to be a misunderstanding at your government's level about our claim on the continental shelf. Maybe you can help us on it. And finally, they just got upset at me and they said, well, you're a small country. You shouldn't have so much ocean. I thought that's an interesting way of putting it. Or you're a small country. We're a big country. We're still countries. But that's just the way they think. And I think in this global world that we live in, mutual respect, rule of law, and the rules that we operate in are so important. I'll put it this way. Not everybody in the region when it comes to these countries, everybody in the world seems to be willing to challenge Communist China the way that you have, at least simply about sovereignty, which is what you're talking about here, I believe. And I'm trying to understand. I see this more broadly among Palauan people as I've been here this week and speaking with them. And I want to get a sense of where that comes from, because there seems to be a deficit of courage in the world. Well, if I go back to when I was young, there was a big debate in Palau. First, that right to self-determination. There were people that said we should be a commonwealth or we should be a U.S. territory. And then there was the overwhelming support for independence. In fact, at the time, it was Yankees go home were signs going around because there was this desire. You know, Palau, for 3,500 years, we were self-governing, right? And then the Spanish showed up. Well, the British and the Spanish showed up, but the Spanish showed up and said, oh, Palau is part of Spain. So we're Western Carolina Islands. We didn't have a choice, but then they sent the missionaries here and we were part of Spain. And then they needed money, so they sold us to the Germans. We didn't have a choice on that either. And then World War I ended. And then the League of Nations says, oh, you're part of Japan now. And then came the United States after World War II. And finally, the United States said, well, you're only a trust territory, so we'll help you on your route to become independent. We're grateful for the United States for doing that, to be really being a responsible nation and giving us that right, giving us the freedom of choice. And you know, maybe that comes also from our spiritual growth. God gave us the power of choice. He doesn't force us to love him. You know, I think that's so important. It's you do things because you love him, not because he's forcing you to love him. And maybe that's the difference between maybe the Western world and sometimes China, because maybe they don't understand God's love. Maybe that's what we need to work on, is helping them understand God's love. Because I think if you understand God's love, then you understand how we should treat each other. Thank you for offering that bit of history. I mean, in each of these powers that have been here, of course, have had a kind of profound impact in each of those time periods. I understand that 25% of Palauans have some kind of Japanese ancestry from that 40-year period even. So these are not small influences. I always tell the Japanese, we were the number one per capita in the world consumer of Kikkoman soy sauce at one point. And every country that's been here, we've been good partners. It hasn't been a bad relationship. It's just that we didn't have our opportunity to decide for ourselves. And I think that freedom of choice is so important. So that's very interesting. So you credit the United States with basically, they could have been more heavy handed, but they chose a different path. Yeah, I'm sure they could have said, we want you to be a territory because of your location. But that is not, they said, you have the choice. So as you know, Micronesia was Saipan, CNMI was part of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, FSM and Palau. We were all part of the trust territory. CNMI chose to be a commonwealth. And of course, the rest of us chose to be FAS, Fairly Associated States. I was going to say nexus earlier, but you said bullseye. It seems like it's still a bullseye, the role you're playing, because of the strategic interest in this region. There's regular Palauans living their lives, doing their thing here. But then there's this large geopolitical, I don't know if game is the word, but a foot. How do you deal with that? I think most importantly is that we have to be firm. We have to be clear on the partnerships that we want and how we want those partnerships to be. And that's at least what we've been trying to make clear. There's no problem with Chinese tourists coming to Palau. There's no problem with buying products from China. The whole world runs on products from China. What we say is if you want to partner, you partner understanding our rules and we work together. It should be about shared prosperity, shared benefits. And that's what I tell our friends from the United States. I tell our friends from Japan. I tell our friends from Taiwan and Australia. I said, the other thing that I see is Palau has a lot of potential and it's being unlocked in the private sector. But guess by whom? The biggest investors in the private sector are Chinese companies. And they're the ones right now, I think reaping the most when it comes to private sector. But when it comes to infrastructure development, building up our education and health systems, guess who contributes to that? It's the United States, it's Japan, it's Taiwan, and it's Australia. So I believe that we should all share in the prosperity that Palau has to offer. And especially our friends and partners that have been so loyal and have helped us get as far as we've gotten. To your point here, there's a hotel up north that is not being built. But I understand there's a long lease that's been given for the land to be built, a very large hotel, over 100 rooms directly across the road from the radar site that's being built. Well, this has been a challenge. But I think it's once again, you see our friends from China see the potential. But we also see that maybe strategically, they hold on to some of these prime properties to hold back development in Palau. Because they've acquired a lot of leases, and they're inactive. But as the Chinese ambassador told me, just say, give me the go signal, and you'll have a million tourists a year. And I think that's something that Palau does not welcome is a million tourists a year. That would destroy the beautiful, pristine environment that we have. I think that goes back to, we want partners that understand the value that we have, share the same values that we have, and want to develop in the right way. One of the things that comes with a compact reassociation is guarantee of defense. And one of the things that came out from my conversations is that there's different understandings of what that actually means among perhaps even yourself, the Americans and so forth. One of the areas that, for example, America is facing, and I get the sense that Palau is facing it increasingly as well from these conversations, is the influx of drugs. In America, it's fentanyl. Here, I understand it's methamphetamine that's coming in and actually affecting the young population, which is not huge in the first place. So tell me a little more about what's happening and what you would like to see happen. Well, you know, this this meth crisis or cocaine crisis is not only happening in Palau. It's happening all across the Pacific. It was one of the main things that we talked about during the Pacific, the PIF that just finished. And we see that sometimes it seems like other governments may be looking a different way and letting it infiltrate our countries. You know, we know most of it comes on flights that come from Macau and Hong Kong. You know, it's something that I brought up with the Chinese government to say, we need your help to stop it so it doesn't get on the planes. And oh, yes, yes, we want to help you on that. But the reality is, no, they haven't helped us much in that area. They've made one arrest in Macau, people getting on the plane. But what we do see is that it's it's overrunning our systems. So not only do we see an influx of them coming in, then when we arrest them, they fill up our jail. So then we have not enough space to take care of all these prisoners. Now, they're more than 15 percent of our prison prisoners and growing. So maybe that's an idea because they know that if they overrun our jails, then our judges say, well, it's inhumane to keep them. So start releasing them. This becomes a problem. So it's so important. And one of the things, you know, I just came from this morning was the PPSG. That's the Pacific Policing Security Arrangement that we have among the Pacific Island countries. So we help each other in time. So the first really deployment was at the mini games last year. And this was the first PIF deployment. There was over 100 officers here. But it's made up of police officers from all across the Pacific. And it was great to have them working together here in Palau for the leaders. But it's about building relationships so that a buddy can call the other buddy and say, you know, we have this person here and maybe they're causing these problems. These are this is what partnership is all about. And so we've been working with U.S. federal agencies trying to get information to ensure that our borders are secure. And I have to be honest, it hasn't been coming as fast as it needs to happen. And so we've been talking to the military intelligence agencies, the FBI, DEA, and we keep on talking. But sometimes boots on the ground is just not happening as fast as it needs to happen. Recently, I signed the TCN agreement with the United States, which they promised more assistance. We're now about eight months into that. It hasn't quite happened yet. But it was an important issue that I have brought up with the United States continuously. And whether it's Homeland Security assistance, it's DEA assistance, it's FBI assistance, it's just attorneys to help us prosecute so that they know that the full extent of the law, these people know that we're going to come down on them. And presence is deterrence. Strength, peace through strength, this is the same concept. And so as a security issue, weakening Palau by the influence of drugs is a problem. And it's something that I think, under the compact, the United States should be taking an active role. And when we do have our JCM meetings twice a year, it's one of the things that's at the top of the list. Just to be super clear, what you're hoping is for, if I understand correctly, is some more operational boots on the ground. Is that right? So I'll just give you an idea. Back in the late 80s, and everybody knows this in Palau, there was a DEA agent that came to Palau, was disguised, worked with everybody here, he was a mechanic. And in the end, he rounded up 13 Palauans. They put them on C-130s and took them off to federal prison. And there was trafficking going through here in the late 80s of heroin and other things. So that's what everybody expects. But we still have not reached that level. We're getting there through what they're trying to help. But that's what we want to see is, we know we're a small community, people are related. Sometimes it's hard to be able to go out and do what needs to be done. So that's why we've been asking for the help. Mr. President, this has been an absolutely wonderful interview. Do you have anything else at this point that you'd like to tell me as we finish up? Well, I think most importantly, when I was in Washington a few years ago, I said, the United States, you fly across the Pacific, and you're in Asia doing business. Don't forget that there's all these dots all across the Pacific that have opportunities, not only for security, but for economic development, that you can partner with us and really unlock that potential. I mean, we're three and a half hours from Hong Kong, three hours and 40 minutes from Taipei, two hours from Manila, five hours from Singapore. So we want to encourage private sector development here, whether it's maybe it's AI centers or IT that's protected by the United States, but so close to Asia. What are other business opportunities that are here? Because I truly believe that we're grateful for the United States for providing that security. As a U.S. taxpayer, what I want to encourage U.S. businesses is look at us as a place that you can expand your business in Asia, but being in a secure place that's protected by the United States. I've tried to look for those win-wins, and I think there's a lot of potential, and I really want to unlock that and encourage U.S. businesses to look at Palau. Just to your point, Deputy Secretary Landau mentioned that the U.S. is a Pacific nation, and a lot of Americans, I think, tend to forget that as well. And frankly, I wasn't clear on how much of a Pacific nation it is until the last few years, as I've been looking into this region. Absolutely. And if you stretch from California all across the Pacific to Palau, it's a pretty big stretch of strong partnerships that the United States has that covers the whole from California to Palau. We're all the way at the end. That's the partnership that we have, and we need to make stronger. And I'm looking forward to more private sector investment, but also the opportunity that, you know, I was sharing with Secretary Landau, is when the port is complete, because they're dredging it and they're going to expand it, it's good for the military, because now the military ships can come in, not only for security, but also for ship visits. But it also creates an opportunity for cruise lines. So, you know, the Caribbean is full of cruise ships, but now you can do Palau, Yap, Guam, Saipan, pop over to Davao or Cebu and just make a loop. But, you know, these are opportunities that are there. And I think that's the benefit of having the militaries, because then it opens up those new opportunities. Or it's hotel development. We need to see a Ritz-Carlton. We want to see a St. Regis. And, you know, one of the things that when Secretary Landau was here, I was talking to him about, was DFC. DFC for a long time, Development Finance Corporation. Palau wasn't eligible. Now we're eligible. But that's so important because it de-risks U.S. businesses, so they can know that they can come here and invest in a condo or a hotel or a cruise line or do something that can provide economic opportunity for Palau, but also for them. And it's secure. I think that's what we need to also encourage. And Mr. President, just as a final, final thought, I understand that a big part of the economy here is tourism. And for the typical American that might be watching this show, what will people find when they come to Palau? Well, you know, I like to describe Palau as a kind of a representation of the entire Pacific within a 60-mile radius. If you go up north, we have the atolls that are just like the Marshall Islands. And then we have the big island of Palau, Babobau, which is volcanic, just like Hawaii. And then you go down south, we have the limestone rock islands, which are like Raja Ampat. I'm not sure where else in the Pacific. Maybe the Philippines has some of them. And then we have islands like Guam and Nauru. So you can see the whole Pacific in a very small space. That's above ground. But we have lush tropical forests. We've just discovered that we have these amazing terraces that were built 3,500 years ago. So some of the first settlements in the Pacific. And covers 21 square miles of our big island. So we have amazing culture. And then, of course, what everybody knows Palau for is the underwater beauty that we have. 500 species of coral, 1,300 species of fish, and stingless jellyfish, which I just went out on Friday with the leaders. And we're able to experience again after four years of them being gone because of heat, extreme heat. So we call it pristine paradise. And we truly believe it. And one of the things that we do is that whenever a visitor comes and visits Palau, you make them sign a pledge that all they leave, when they leave, it's footprints in the sand that wash away. Respect what we have, what we've taken care of. Enjoy it. And let's continue to share it with the world. Well, President Serangel Wipps Jr., it's such a pleasure to have had you on. Well, thank you so much. Thank you all for joining President of Palau, Serangel Wipps Jr. on this episode of American Thought Leaders. I'm your host, Jan Jekielek.