TAOYUAN, Taiwan (Reuters) – Taiwan opened its first travel bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday with the small, tourism-dependent Pacific state of Palau holding a lifeline to a country located in a region where China and the United States are located offers fight for influence.

Palau, less than a four-hour flight from Taiwan, is one of only 15 countries that have formal diplomatic relations with the Chinese-claimed island. Closing borders last year to keep the virus out of the way hurt the economy badly.

With no cases recorded in Palau and with the Taiwan outbreak under control, Taipei approved the “sterile corridor” last month, although controls are still in place, including tourists traveling in groups and limited contact with local people to have.

Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. spoke about the start of the bubble at Taiwan’s main international airport in Taoyuan, outside Taipei.

“Often times we have to take brave steps, and I think this is a brave step. But it’s a very cautious step, and that’s why we say we’re opening Palau with care, ”he said before getting home on a China Airlines 737 jet and escorting the first group into the bubble.

Several other global travel bubbles have come and gone as the pandemic roared back, or offer quarantine-free travel in one direction only, such as from the Cook Islands to New Zealand.

The Pacific is the scene of a diplomatic tug-of-war between Beijing and Washington, and in 2019 China tore away two of Taiwan’s allies, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands.

The United States has accused China of luring developing countries in the Pacific with generous loans, which Beijing denies.

Taiwan has provided development aid to Palau, including health care, and Bubble Flight also has a small team of doctors and nurses on board.

For the travel-hungry tourists on board, it was still an opportunity to finally go abroad again.

“I’m so excited. I’ve been looking forward to this for ages,” said Choyce Kuo, 44.

Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Adaptation by Himani Sarkar