The Pacific nation of Palau, composed of ca. 340 islands, with a total area of 180 square miles (466 sq. km.), is located just over half way from Guam, the southernmost of the Mariana Islands, to Indonesia. The Hill reports (via msn.com) that the U.S. has been invited to build military installations there, by the Republic of Palau government.
Apparently the invitation came when Defense Secretary Mark Esper visited Palau last week. Palau is said to be a close ally of Taiwan, whose independent nationhood few nations recognize at the insistence of China which claims, but does not control, Taiwan.
The creation of such bases would be of enormous financial benefit to Palau, as the current prosperity of Guam demonstrates. The military advantage to the U.S. of having one or more bases much closer to the Philippines and Indonesia is, one hopes, obvious. Plus it complicates ambitions China has to dominate the region militarily.
Wikipedia reports Palau exists in a Compact of Free Association with the United States.
Politically, Palau is a presidential republic in free association with the United States, which provides defense, funding, and access to social services. (snip) The country's two official languages are Palauan (a member of the Austronesian language family) and English.
