{"id":1301,"date":"2026-07-15T22:03:53","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=1301"},"modified":"2026-07-15T22:05:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:05:54","slug":"palau-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=1301","title":{"rendered":"Palau Now: President Whipps Jr. on Pacific Islands Freedom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo Sources: Office of the President, Republic of Palau<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Christopher Cottrell<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

July 15, 2026, Palau__<\/strong>Preparing for the coming Pacific Islands Forum in Palau next month, Micronesia Sun sought out President Whipps Jr. for his take on what\u2019s at stake in the region from security to climate to freedom with USA250. Below is the interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Micronesia Sun:<\/strong> What do you think of the China missile test?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whipps. Jr<\/strong>: First of all, I think we need to understand that all those of us who live in the Pacific, experienced WWII. If you know that history, we lived it and we all have a desire to promote peace & prosperity. Now, with that, last year, we the Pacific island leaders signed at the forum in Honiara the Ocean of Peace Declaration with the intent of promoting the concept of peace in the Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChina once again, sending missile into the heart of the pacific, right near, where the ocean of peace declaration agreement was signed was really a slap on our face. It\u2019s concerning because they sent them without warning, and not letting us know and being not transparent about it. That\u2019s the biggest issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if you\u2019re waking up the next morning and there\u2019s shrapnel from a missile that crossed over Palau with no explanation?  This is why we\u2019re very concerned\u2026 it\u2019s the lack of information, the lack of transparency.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know that every country has a right to defend themselves, has the right to develop military equipment, but they information also have a responsibility to their neighbors to inform them of their activities and to be transparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Micronesia Sun:<\/strong> Will you be attending Micronesia Islands Forum in Pohnpei? If so, what do you hope to see there?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whipps. Jr:<\/strong> What\u2019s important about that forum is building solidarity and preparing us for the important issues that will be discussed at PIF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn a regional level, its transportation, energy crisis, how do we build resilience and these all lead up to what we talk about at PIF. We\u2019re excited about going to MIF but unfortunately it had to be postponed because of the climate crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur prayers are with our friends In the CNMI and Guam at this time. A second typhoon in less than three months is really devastation. Our prayers are with those families. But really, this is a wakeup call for all of us and the U.S. on the impacts of natural disasters and the warming of the oceans and the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Micronesia Sun: There is a\u201dPre-Cop31\u201d meeting in Fiji any details about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whipps. Jr:<\/strong> In Palau we\u2019re having the Leaders Ascent Dialogue, the purpose of that is to have the leaders representing the Pacific, while in Palau, come up with a joint declaration heading to the pre-COP so our positions are unified and focused on what we want to be delivered at COP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs you know, we had hoped Australia would host COP and that it would be a Pacific COP and that didn\u2019t happen. However, the opportunity to have a pre-COP in the pacific allows the focus to be brought to the Pacific. So having PIF before the Pre-COP gives us an opportunity to unite, along with our partners who will be here in Palau, and bring a unified position and bring that to Pre-COP which will be then be carried to COP in T\u00fcrkiye so we can have real action that the people of the Pacific have been hoping would actually take place in COP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs you know, most of the times at COP there\u2019s a lot of talk but very little action. Adding to this, I wanted to discuss the issues that we believe are important to discuss at Leaders Ascent Dialogue. There are three main issues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n