A new Guam-based security report has flagged rising local unease over the accelerating US military buildup in Palau, just as Palau’s president makes a historic first State visit to New Zealand. The Micronesia Security Outlook 2025, produced by the Pacific Centre for Island Security, says safeguards meant to protect Palau’s environment and sovereignty are being undermined by rapid installation of military infrastructure and a lack of local consultation.
The Palau section of the report was authored by Jodean Remengesau, director of the Bureau of Agriculture in Palau’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment. Remengesau writes that while the Compact of Free Association grants the United States exclusive rights to use Palauan land, waters and airspace, it nonetheless obliges the US to meet Palauan environmental standards. “The U.S. military had missed and fell short of fulfilling its duties and responsibilities under the compact of the U.S with Palau,” he warns in the report.
The study documents a number of specific complaints, most notably over work on Angaur, one of Palau’s 16 states. Remengesau says the US military cleared 271,807 square metres of land for a site intended for a tactical mobile over-the-horizon radar system without obtaining the required environmental earthmoving permit or conducting legally mandated community consultations. The report also alleges that shredded tree debris left at the radar site created conditions conducive to infestation by the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle, and that some of that debris was subsequently dumped on residents’ yards in an emergency attempt to manage the problem.
That land-clearing triggered legal action in 2023 when Angaur Governor Steven Salii sued Palau’s central government, the Palau Environmental Quality Protection Board, the United States government and military contractors, alleging violations of Palau environmental laws and compact obligations for disturbing the property without an environmental impact assessment or permits.
The report underscores why these developments carry broader weight for Palau’s domestic politics. Under the renegotiated Compact of Free Association, the United States pledged an US$890 million assistance package to Palau spread over 20 years beginning 1 October 2023, and provides for US defence of the islands. Because a substantial share of Palau’s national budget derives from compact funds and foreign aid, the report notes, the government has limited fiscal flexibility and the US military presence is expected to expand as regional strategic competition intensifies.
Among the projects at the centre of concern is a US$118 million radar installation the report says is due to be operational in 2026. The think tank argues that some installations have grown beyond initial presentations and that transparency and meaningful community consultation have been insufficient, leaving statutory “guardrails” ineffective.
Palau’s president, who is undertaking the country’s first-ever State visit to New Zealand, is travelling as these issues are being raised publicly by regional analysts and local officials. The visit marks a diplomatic milestone for Palau; the timing also places Palau’s relationships with traditional partners under renewed scrutiny amid concerns over environmental compliance, legal disputes and questions about how the expanded military footprint will affect Palauans’ sense of sovereignty and stewardship of their islands.
The Pacific Centre for Island Security report concludes that accelerated militarisation has heightened tensions between national security objectives and local environmental and governance safeguards, and suggests growing dissatisfaction among communities directly affected by the installations. The Angaur lawsuit and the report’s findings are likely to keep scrutiny on both Palau’s government and its international partners in the months ahead.
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