WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- The Pacific island nation of Palau has agreed to take in 17 Chinese Muslims held at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , the country 's ambassador to the United States said Wednesday . The map shows the Pacific island nation of Palau in relation to China . Details of the transfer are still being worked out , Ambassador Hersey Kyota told CNN . But Kyota said his country , a former U.S. Pacific trust territory , has agreed to take in the ethnic Uighur detainees `` for humanitarian reasons '' and because of the `` special relationship '' between Palau and the United States . U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly would not comment on the announcement , telling reporters , `` We 're still involved in ongoing discussions . '' The agreement includes some U.S. aid for Palau , Kyota said , but he said those details remained to be worked out as well . The country , with a population of about 20,000 , is about 1,000 miles southeast of Manila , Philippines , and about 4,600 miles west of Hawaii . Palau has received nearly $ 900 million in U.S. aid since independence in 1994 , according to congressional auditors , and depends on Washington for defense . The `` Compact of Free Association '' between Palau and the United States is up for review , but Kelly said any additional aid offer `` is not linked to any other discussions we may be having with the government of Palau . '' The Uighurs were accused of receiving weapons and military training in Afghanistan . Some of the prisoners have been cleared for release from the Guantanamo Bay facility since 2003 , but the United States would not send them back to China out of concern that Chinese authorities would torture them . A federal court ordered the men released , but an appeals court halted that order . China has said no returned Uighurs would be tortured , but it has warned other countries against taking the men . Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu told reporters in February that the men `` must be handed over to China and brought to justice . ''
Country 's ambassador to U.S. says agreement includes some aid to Palau . Uighurs are native Chinese Muslims . Palau agrees to take 17 Uighurs from Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . U.S. would n't send Uighur detainees to China due to torture concerns .