Palau

So I'm trying to show that we don't.

Well, the other thing that's been driving me mad lately, and I even heard Phil Goff say this on his podcast, which I listened to the other night, which is, you know, why isn't the media reporting Palau? And I thought, fuck you.

You know, do you realize how expensive it is to go to Palau as you're a journalist and how is Barbara

Drever still doing the Pacific? I don't think so.

And she was there.

on the sidelines of the global climate movement.

But taking that international view, Sam, you were in the Pacific Islands Forum in Palau earlier this month where climate change was a big hot topic and the Paris Agreement as well.

What was the conversation there? You know, Winston Peters was representing New Zealand there, but as foreign minister.

And how do you think it will play out given New Zealand is hosting the forum next year?

The flag state is often a country that has no interest in enforcing anyone's sanctions.

The ship flies the flag of Cameroon or Palau or the Cook Islands.

The registry is a post office box.

The owner is a shell company in the Marshall Islands.

But you just used the word sources in your answer to that question, which invites this question.

In the prologue of the book, you write, "...in writing this book, I have cast my research net widely." But there is no getting around the reality that the main sources I relied upon were penned by Westerners, the people who came to Palau where the boat was wrecked, and reported to the world what happened as they perceived it.

Although I have used Palauan sources and oral traditions where possible, They are relatively few in number and often not very specific and often contradictory.

So that creates sort of a binary choice for you at the outset of this writing.

So talk about that binary choice and how you resolved it.

So this is a very common tale, and I just wanted to lay it out there because a lot of authors don't.

And I wanted to know that my decision was based on a contextual sort of analysis of what do I have available? Can I tell a complete story? And I am totally confident that there was enough to tell the story.

And I was very respectful of the Palawan culture.

Okay, we're going to move on to the Pacific Islands.

So there was a 55th Pacific Island Forum that wrapped up in Palau last week.

And it was a little bit less unity and a little bit more geopolitical chess match going on.

So the official theme was supposed to be building economies, life, action, unity, but in actual fact...

I should get in touch with Piff and say, I'll write their slogans from now on.

Yeah.

So Palau is one of the 13 countries that formally recognises Taiwan as a country and maintains diplomatic relations with it.

And as we know, our biggest trading partner, China, does not like that.

Taiwan contributes its expertise and resources to technology-driven projects in cooperation with its diplomatic allies to address development challenges and enhance local capacities.

Concrete examples include collaboration with Paraguay on an integrated healthcare information system, the construction of a strategic oil reserve facility in Eswatini, and collaboration with Palau National Hospital on smart healthcare.

These initiatives have strengthened data management and efficiency, bolstered energy security, fostered industrial growth, and advanced sustainable development.

Khalilur Rahman, president-elect of the upcoming 81st UN General Assembly, has made restoring trust and managing institutional transformation the overarching themes of his presidency.

You're in Palau for the Pacific Islands Forum, and we're trying to figure out why China cares.

Because China is not a Pacific island.

It's a near Pacific island nation.

Well, I mean, and they do view themselves as near everything, if they can be.

Um, so like, yeah, like what, what is going down to all these, all these countries and I guess territories or regions, uh, are meeting in Palau this over this last week.

And like, uh, there's heads of state and also some of our sending delegates instead.

Um, but they're all meeting to discuss like Pacific Island related stuff.

Right.

The main reason why I have heard of Yap... is that the old currency of the country is large stone rings.

They cannot be mined on Yap, so they show the danger and risk involved in bringing them over, mostly from Palau.

And if I'm ever lucky enough to visit, I would love to go diving and exploring.

And so to my listener in Colonia, I say, Thank you, and good night.