KOROR, Palau: Palau is asking longtime benefactor, the United States, for a 35-year extension on direct aid funding - and hinting Washington should say yes because of its offer to take in 13 Guantanamo Bay detainees. Both Palauan and US officials have denied any direct link between the country's willingness to take in the Chinese Muslim Uygurs and American aid.

But Palau negotiators say they are proposing the extension in a formal 15-year review of the Compact of Free Association between the two countries that underpins the tiny island state's economy. The latest round of talks opened yesterday in Hawaii, with a final round due in Palau in September.

US aid to Palau over the past 15 years totals more than $852 million, according to a congressional estimate.