Taiwan is using the Pacific Islands Forum summit in Palau to shore up one of its few remaining diplomatic allies, a modest but meaningful win for Taipei as China keeps squeezing its friends in the region.

• Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung flew to Palau to attend the forum and a long-running dialogue between Taiwan and Pacific island countries.
• A business delegation went along, with the government pushing Taiwanese firms to invest in Palau and build up trade and tourism.
• Palau is Taiwan's closest diplomatic ally geographically, and Taipei wants to show off joint development projects there to the US, Japan and Australia.
• Lin plans to meet Palau's president and vice president and hold side talks with other friendly delegations on keeping the Indo-Pacific stable.

Outlook: Expect more Taiwanese money and tourism promises aimed at Pacific allies as Beijing keeps working to peel them away.