A new security report says environmental safeguards and local oversight have been bypassed as the United States accelerates its military presence in Palau, stirring growing public dissatisfaction and legal challenges in the island nation.
The Guam-based Pacific Centre for Island Security’s Micronesia Security Outlook 2025 highlights what it calls ineffective “guardrails” in agreements meant to protect Palau’s environment and sovereignty. Jodean Remengesau, director of the Bureau of Agriculture in Palau’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment, authored the Palau segment and writes that the U.S. military has “missed and fell short of fulfilling its duties and responsibilities under the compact” with Palau. The report accuses U.S. forces and contractors of moving quickly on infrastructure projects without meeting Palauan environmental standards or carrying out community consultations.
One specific example cited is the clearing of land on the state of Angaur to host a tactical mobile over-the-horizon radar site. Remengesau says an environmental earthmoving permit was not obtained and required consultations did not take place. The report describes shredded tree debris left at the site that invited infestation by the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle; some of that material was subsequently dumped on residents’ yards in a hurried attempt to address the problem. In 2023, Angaur Governor Steven Salii filed a lawsuit naming Palau’s central government, the Palau Environmental Quality Protection Board, the U.S. government and its military contractors, alleging the unlawful clearance of 271,807 square metres without an environmental impact assessment or permits.
The security outlook also places the military build-up within a broader geopolitical frame: tensions between the United States and China have increased strategic interest in Micronesia, and Palau’s renegotiated Compact of Free Association came with an expanded U.S. financial commitment. Under the compact, the United States pledged an US$890 million package to Palau over 20 years, a funding cycle that began on October 1, 2023, and includes provisions for U.S. defence responsibilities. The report notes that a substantial share of Palau’s national budget depends on compact funds and foreign aid, creating incentives for deeper military use of Palauan territory.
A major U.S. radar project — described in the report as costing about US$118 million — is expected to be operational this year, heightening concern among Palauans who say they were not kept informed. The authors say a shoreline radar tower system initially presented as a jointly used single installation “later turned out” to involve separate facilities for Palau and the U.S., a development the report frames as emblematic of shrinking local control over land use decisions tied to defence.
In related diplomatic moves, Palauan leader Whipps has made a historic first state visit to New Zealand this week, underscoring Palau’s growing regional engagement as questions over foreign military activity at home intensify. The report warns that while Palau’s geostrategic position may bring economic and security benefits, accelerated militarisation risks compromising “the island nation’s peace and sovereignty as its people once knew it,” and calls for stronger enforcement of environmental stipulations and greater transparency in how defence projects are planned and executed.
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