“This is really the first major attack that we’ve seen on government records,” he told reporters in Tokyo, a day after holding talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Palau is one of just 12 countries and states worldwide that diplomatically recognise self-ruled Taiwan, which China insists is part of its territory.

Taipei said on Monday it was ready to help Palau beef up its digital defences after the New York Times reported that more than 20,000 documents had been stolen from Palau’s government.

“I think China wants to weaken those relationships, show our vulnerability, and what a great way to do it by hacking our system,” Whipps said.

The president said the documents were stolen in March, just as the US agreed to a two-decade aid package for Palau, and weeks later they appeared on the dark web.

Ransomware group DragonForce claimed responsibility for the hack, the New York Times said, citing analysts as saying it would be unusual for China to subcontract such an operation.

On Wednesday, Whipps said analysis of the data showed the ransomware was likely developed in Russia, it was sent out of Malaysia, and “it looks like it has ties back to China.”

“The reason we say maybe there’s government involvement is that they weren’t interested in money. They really didn’t demand any money,” Whipps added.

With no financial motive behind the attack, the president branded it “harassment”.

“If you’re not asking for a ransom and the fingerprints go back to somewhere in China, then maybe the assumption is that there’s government actors,” he said.