Taiwan plays major

economic role in lead-up to Marshalls’ elections

By Giff Johnson

LESS than a year since

establishing diplomatic

ties with the Marshall Islands, Taiwan has

already

pumped in

more than $2O million in cash and development projects - a hefty sum of money in these islands whose nation al budget has averaged around $BO million for the past several years.

The injec

tion of $12.5 million in the fiscal year

beginning

October 1 is

the primary

reason that

the Marshalls’ budget is 12 percent larger than last year.

With the national election set for November 15, the large infusion of Taiwan cash has opposition senators demanding to know how the money is being used and alleging that the aid amounts to little more than a slush fund for the government party’s re election. After four years of govern

ment cutbacks as part of an Asian Devel opment Bank-influenced reform pro gram, there is no dispute that Taiwan’s aid is providing the government party with funding that is essential to its oper ations, even possibly to its re-election.

Minister of finance, Tony deßrum, was direct in his announcement of how the new national budget funds, beginning October 1, would be used six weeks before election day. He said $lOO,OOO would be going for development on almost every outer island.

When opposition leaders questioned why the only islands not mentioned for the $lOO,OOO handouts were opposition

strongholds, deßrum followed up the next day by telling opposition leader Senator Litokwa Tomeing of Wotje that SIOO,OOO was being penned in for Wotje because the mayor had request ed funding for a project that would

involve a “local contractor” - one who is challenging Tomeing for his seat at Wotje. But despite the politics, the rela tionship with Taiwan has brought some immediate and widely acknowledged benefits.

Earlier in the year, Taiwan provided about $500,000 for the purchase of dumpsters and garbage collection equipment that has significantly

Taiwanese officials have heaped praise on Marshallese president Inala Kokin and his cabinet, offering hope for his re-election cone the Novenmber ballot period

improved the litter ing and trash prob lem in the capital, Majuro. The Tai wanese have re established their presence, short-cir cuited in 1991 when the Marshalls estab lished formal ties with the People's Republic of China, at an agricultural station in Majuro.

They are provid ing several million dollars to fund com pletion of a cause

way linking Ebeye

Island, near the US

Army’s Kwajalein missile testing

range, with islands to the north, giving Ebeye residents access to these uncrowded and rural islands, and also paving roads in a rural section of Majuro.

In addition, Taiwan is funding the construction of Majuro Atoll Local Government’s new 5500,000 city hall headquarters.

A number of these were projects that were planned with the PRC before the switch to Taiwan last November.

But whereas, for example, the PRC was going to bring in Chinese labor to build the Majuro city hall, Taiwan is providing the funding at a much higher level directly to the local government to hire a local contractor to do the work.

Deßrum, who has been a key archi tect of the relations with Taiwan along with Foreign Minister Phillip Muller, used a Marshallese phrase - “etoor mol mol eo” - to describe the development in the Taiwan-Marshall Islands rela tionship, a phrase that translates as “the fish are running.”

And indeed, things are hopping.

In late August, Taiwan and Marshall Islands leaders approved a $5 million development loan fund package that

prompted Foreign Minister Phillip Muller to comment, “This is yet another giant step forward in the enhancement of the friendship and economic cooperation that started last November when the two countries established diplomatic rela tions.”

The $5 million “soft loan” agreement aims primarily to assist the Marshall Islands to buy boats for much-needed outer islands service, but can also be used for other development projects “in line with the long term economic devel opment plan of the Marshall Islands.”

The $12.5 million that

Taiwan is contributing

to the government

accounts for 14 percent

of the new budget

A substantial portion of this, accord ing to deßrum, is going for outer islands projects, while the balance is funding recurrent government operations.

During an August visit to Majuro by a large Taiwan delegation - the second such visit since May - Taiwanese deputy foreign minister David Lee and other Taiwan officials lavished praise on Mar

shall Islands Presi dent Imata Kabua and his Cabinet, offering their hope for his re election in the coming poll.

Muller told the Tai wanese delegation that the ties with Tai wan were just eight months old but already “we’ve felt the positive impact of

the relationship.”

Lee wished the Presi dent and his cabinet good luck for the upcoming election.

Other Taiwan offi cials took the oppor

tunity to publicly praise Kabua for his “wise leadership” that has “brought pros perity” to the Marshall Islands.

Though no mention was made of the Marshalls’ former ties with the PRC, some opposition members have made no secret of their interest in resuming rela tions with the People’s Republic of China.

Given the often tenuous nature of relations with the two Chinas in the Pacific area - witness similar switches in Papua New Guinea and Tonga - it’s no surprise that the Taiwanese have devoted substantial resources toward cementing the relationship this year.

And it is equally obvious that many in the community are seeing the benefit of the new relationship.

The tie with the PRC was political, while the Taiwanese are putting hard cash down for a country that was in des perate shape financially just two years ago. The Taiwanese have, apparently, committed to funding a government trust fund, like that of Tuvalu and Kiribati, and to providing other long term fund ing. To what extent Taiwan’s largesse will continue in the future is an unknown question, but in the here and now Tai wan’s new economic role in the Marshall Islands is substantial. ■

Foreign minister Phillip Muller and finance minister Tony deBrum have both defended the contributions that the Taiwanese have put into the Marshalls