U.S. Army Pacific just sent its largest contingent of soldiers to Palau in 37 years, and it likely will be a more frequent visitor with China’s reach and influence extending into remote Pacific islands and atolls.

About 150 soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment out of Washington state deployed to Palau April 13 for weeklong training that included security cooperation and community outreach on Palau’s islands including Peleliu — where U.S. Marines faced a dug-in and ferocious Japanese resistance in 1944.

Maj. Kelly Haux, with U.S. Army Pacific at Fort Shafter, said it was the first large contingent of soldiers to train in Palau since 1982.

The Army previously sent engineers, doctors, dentists and other medical personnel periodically as part of small civic action teams, Haux said.

In 1982 Palau signed a compact of free association (COFA) with the United States under which U.S. forces are responsible for Palau’s defense until 2044.

China, which is consolidating military power in the South China Sea, has set its sights on the Pacific islands that belong to the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Palau in the form of growing investment.

U.S. officials have cautioned against “debt-trap diplomacy” in which China offers cheap loans and then seeks influence and concessions when poor nations can’t pay the money back.

China cut back on its residents visiting Palau due to the island nation’s diplomatic ties with Taiwan, impacting tourism. China sees Taiwan as a renegade province.

“Fact of the matter is that these nations are at risk from the pernicious approach China has taken with (investment) in the region,” Adm. Phil Davidson, head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on Oahu, told members of Congress in February. “And to prevent that from happening, we should look at the long-term need on those COFA states.”

Without the island nations and the strategic alliance with the United States, “the logistics and sustainment of our operations in the Western Pacific would be severed,” Davidson said.

The Navy, meanwhile, had the 338-foot USNS Brunswick, an all-aluminum transport catamaran, in Micronesia as part of Pacific Partnership 2019. Multi-national service members onboard conducted outreach with local officials on first aid, humanitarian and disaster relief and engineering projects.

The Army exercise “is a direct reflection of our commitment to the security and defense of Palau,” Amy Hyatt, U.S. ambassador to Palau, said in a news release.

On a previous visit by Davidson, “the president of Palau asked the admiral to bring more Army exercises, because there hadn’t been any in decades,” Hyatt said.

Soldiers trained with small arms on Koror, demonstrated securing an airfield in collaboration with Palauan security forces, and conducted a basic health screening on Peleliu.

The 150 soldiers sent to Palau were part of a 900- soldier task force with Pacific Pathways, which sends large groups of soldiers on multiple exercises in the Pacific. The soldiers recently participated in Exercise Balikatan in the Philippines.

Haux said U.S. Army Pacific is exploring an expansion of Pacific Pathways — similar to the effort with Palau — to include training opportunities with partner nations in the Pacific such as Fiji.