Pacific nation Palau begins voting Tuesday in a presidential election dominated by cost of living worries, China meddling claims, and the expanding military footprint of the United States.
The Melanesian microstate of some 20,000 people is one of Taiwan's few remaining diplomatic friends and is seen as a steadfast U.S. supporter in a region where China has made inroads.
In the four years since coming to power, incumbent president Surangel Whipps Jr. has overseen the swift expansion of U.S. military interests across the Palauan archipelago.
His sole rival, Tommy Remengesau Jr. — also his brother-in-law — has cautioned that drawing too close to the U.S. could paint a target on Palau's back.
"Whipps is really supportive of the United States. He's more pro-U.S. than some U.S. presidents," said Pacific watcher Graeme Smith from Australian National University.
"Remengesau is far less pro-U.S. Although that doesn't mean that he is pro-Beijing, either."
Both candidates have expressed support for ongoing diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
A tropical archipelago of limestone islands and coral atolls about 800 kilometers east of the Philippines, the election will, in large part, be decided far from Palau's shores.
It has been estimated that a substantial chunk of Palau's 16,000 registered voters live overseas, mostly in the United States.
This has seen the two candidates traveling to Hawaiian golf courses, Texas pool halls, and Oregon universities in their efforts to drum up far-flung votes.
An official at Palau's electoral commission said results would be known sometime after Nov. 12, when these absentee ballots start to trickle in.
Military build-up
Palau gained independence in 1994 but allows the United States military to use its territory under a longstanding "Compact of Free Association" agreement.
In return, the United States gives Palau hundreds of millions of dollars in budgetary support and assumes responsibility for its national defense.
Whipps has overseen the ongoing construction of a long-range U.S. radar system based in Palau, and has mooted further buttressing the nation with U.S.-made "Patriot" missile defenses.
"I always say that presence is deterrence," the 56-year-old has said.
Whipps has also been a persistent China skeptic, accusing Beijing of meddling in the presidential vote and of orchestrating hacks on government computers.
Remengesau, 68, has meanwhile criticized the lack of transparency surrounding these U.S. military deals, cautioning that tiny Palau should not risk China's ire by giving Washington free rein.
His less confrontational foreign policy mantra is that Palau should be an "enemy to none and friends to all."
A family affair
Cost-of-living woes were the most pressing domestic concern of an exceedingly polite campaign between two candidates related by marriage.
Official data shows the cost of food, alcohol, housing and electricity has surged by more than 15% in the past year after Whipps slapped a new tax on goods in an effort to replenish government coffers.
His brother-in-law Remengesau — himself a former president — has pledged to scrap the tax.
Palau's economy has in many ways struggled to recover from an old diplomatic spat with China.
China effectively banned tourists from visiting Palau's pristine beaches and world-famous dive spots in 2017, after then-President Remengesau refused to switch allegiances from Taiwan to Beijing.
Stripped of tens of thousands of Chinese visitors each year, Palau's tourism-reliant economy has struggled to find other sources of jobs and cash.
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