A new Guam-based security report and a recent legal challenge have intensified scrutiny of the expanding U.S. military footprint in Palau, as President Surangel Whipps Jr. made a historic first state visit to New Zealand this month amid growing local unease.
The Pacific Centre for Island Security’s Micronesia Security Outlook 2025, which includes a Palau chapter authored by Jodean Remengesau, warns that safeguards intended to protect Palau’s environment and sovereignty are being weakened by an accelerated militarisation. Remengesau, director of the Bureau of Agriculture in Palau’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment, writes that provisions in the Compact of Free Association requiring adherence to environmental standards have not been met in several instances as U.S. military activity in Palau expands.
The report highlights the clearing of land on Angaur — one of Palau’s 16 states — for a tactical mobile over-the-horizon radar site as a prominent example. Remengesau says the U.S. military did not obtain a Palauan environmental earthmoving permit or carry out required community consultations before the works began. The report also alleges that shredded tree debris from the clearing, which risked attracting the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle, was later dumped on residents’ yards in a hurried attempt to manage the problem.
Those environmental grievances have been the subject of litigation. In 2023, Angaur Governor Steven Salii sued Palau’s central government, the Palau Environmental Quality Protection Board, the U.S. government and military contractors, alleging violations of national environmental laws and compact obligations. The suit claims 271,807 square metres of land were cleared in Angaur without an environmental impact assessment or the necessary permits.
The new analysis comes against the backdrop of the renegotiated U.S.-Palau Compact that began its current funding cycle on October 1, 2023. Under the revised agreement the United States pledged an US$890 million package over 20 years and reiterated defence obligations — a financial lifeline that, the report notes, increases Palau’s exposure to U.S. and international security objectives because a large share of the national budget depends on compact funds and other foreign aid.
The security report also points to the broader strategic context: heightened U.S.-China competition in the region has set the stage for expanded military activities in Palau. A US$118 million radar project tied to that effort is slated to be operational this year, a development that local environmental advocates and the report say should have triggered stricter oversight and consultation measures.
Palauan officials and advocacy groups have long debated the trade-offs between the security and economic assurances offered by closer defence ties with the United States and the environmental and sovereignty concerns that accompany increased military infrastructure. The Pacific Centre for Island Security’s findings add fresh, document-based detail to that debate by naming specific procedural lapses and quantifying land impacted.
President Whipps’s recent state visit to New Zealand — the first such visit by a Palauan head of state — brings additional diplomatic attention to the issue at a time when Pacific leaders are increasingly balancing geopolitical pressures with the imperatives of environmental protection and domestic accountability. The report’s release and ongoing litigation underscore that the conversation over the scale and oversight of U.S. military activity in Palau is moving from private concern to public and legal scrutiny.
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