U.S. talks with island nation to resettle Chinese detainees

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is nearing agreement with the remote South Pacific island nation of Palau to resettle a group of Chinese Muslims now held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, The Associated Press has learned.

As they attempt to fulfill President Barack Obama’s order to close the Guantanamo facility by early next year, administration officials are looking to Palau to accept some or all of the 17 Uighur detainees due to fierce congressional opposition to releasing them on U.S. soil, officials said.

A federal judge last year ordered them released into the United States after the Pentagon determined they were not “enemy combatants.” But an appeals court halted the order, and they have been in legal limbo since. Thus far, no country has agreed to take any of the 17 individuals.

Three U.S. officials familiar with the situation said, however, that Palau is now a prime candidate for their relocation. Palau, with a population of about 20,000, is an archipelago of eight main islands plus more than 250 islets that is best-known for diving and tourism and is located some 500 miles east of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean.

One senior official said Palau had indicated it is willing in principle to accept some Uighurs, but that specific numbers had not yet been determined, and a deal was not yet concluded.

“We have spoken with the Palauans, but neither they nor we have made any decisions,” the official said. That official and two others spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

Two of the officials said the United States was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a mutual defense and cooperation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.