A new report by the Guam-based Pacific Centre for Island Security says accelerated U.S. military activity in Palau is eroding environmental safeguards and sidelining Palauan communities, a development unfolding as Palau’s president makes a historic first state visit to New Zealand.
The Micronesia Security Outlook 2025, which includes the Palau chapter authored by Jodean Remengesau, director of the Bureau of Agriculture in Palau’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment, warns that the guardrails intended to protect Palau’s environment and sovereignty are being weakened by rapid militarisation. “The U.S military had missed and fell short of fulfilling its duties and responsibilities under the compact of the U.S with Palau,” Remengesau writes, citing specific instances where U.S. activities did not meet Palauan legal and environmental standards.
The report singles out the clearing of land on Angaur, one of Palau’s 16 states, for a tactical mobile over-the-horizon radar site. According to Remengesau and local officials, the U.S. military began earthworks without securing an environmental earthmoving permit or holding the community consultations required under Palauan law. The report describes shredded tree debris left at the site as inviting infestation by the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle and alleges that material was later dumped on residents’ yards in a hurried attempt to manage the problem.
Those actions prompted legal action: in 2023 Angaur Governor Steven Salii filed a lawsuit against Palau’s central government, the Palau Environmental Quality Protection Board, the U.S. government and its military contractors. The suit alleges the clearing of 271,807 square metres of land without conducting an environmental impact assessment or obtaining required permits before disturbing the property.
The report acknowledges that Palau’s strategic position in rising U.S.-China tensions and the terms of the renegotiated Compact of Free Association increase the pressure on the island nation to accommodate security infrastructure. Under the renegotiated compact, the United States pledged an US$890 million aid package to Palau over 20 years, a cycle that began on October 1, 2023. The compact also reaffirms U.S. defence responsibilities for Palau, and compact funds and other foreign aid constitute a significant portion of Palau’s national budget, the report notes — factors that analysts say make further military use of Palau likely.
One major project at the centre of concern is a US$118 million radar system the report says is expected to be operational this year. The Micronesia Security Outlook flags a pattern in which installations initially presented as mutual-use infrastructure later raised questions when details of separate or expanded U.S.-specific capabilities emerged.
Palauan leaders are now balancing diplomacy and domestic accountability. President Surangel Whipps Jr.’s first-ever state visit to New Zealand this week is being watched as part of broader efforts to strengthen regional ties and explore diplomatic avenues as Washington’s footprint in Palau grows. For many Palauans, the report underscores a widening gap between the legal protections on paper and how security agreements play out on the ground.
The Pacific Centre for Island Security’s findings add fresh momentum to existing legal challenges and public debate in Palau over environmental protection, community consultation and the limits of sovereignty in the context of major-power competition. The report calls for renewed scrutiny of how compact commitments are implemented and for mechanisms that ensure local laws and environmental safeguards are respected as security projects proceed.
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