Taiwan is pushing back hard against a Solomon Islands newspaper claim that it handed cash gifts to Palau officials, calling the story a smear — bad news for Taipei's image in the Pacific, and another sign of the influence fight with Beijing in the region.

• Taiwan's foreign ministry says the claim that it gave cash to Palau politicians is simply false.
• Aid to Palau and other allies goes through project plans and each side's own official procedures, the ministry says, the same way other friendly countries run Pacific programs.
• The story ran while Taiwan's foreign minister Lin Chia-lung was in Palau for the Pacific Islands Forum summit.
• Taipei points to earlier reporting that the paper took Chinese government funding in exchange for favorable coverage, which it says undercuts the paper's independence.
• Taiwan frames its aid as development work in clean energy, health and infrastructure, plus encouraging its own companies to invest in allied countries.

Outlook: Expect more media skirmishes like this as Taiwan and China compete for the few Pacific states still recognizing Taipei.