A new report by a Guam-based security think tank has renewed scrutiny of the United States’ expanding military footprint in Palau, saying environmental safeguards enshrined in bilateral agreements have been bypassed as installations are rushed into place. The assessment, published in the Pacific Centre for Island Security’s Micronesia Security Outlook 2025, comes as Palau’s leader Whipps made a historic first State visit to New Zealand on April 13 — a diplomatic milestone that underscores the island nation’s heightened international profile amid strategic rivalry in the region.
The report’s Palau chapter, authored by Jodean Remengesau, director of the Bureau of Agriculture in Palau’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment, argues that long-standing “guardrails” in the Compact of Free Association are being eroded by an accelerated military buildup. While the compact grants the United States exclusive use of Palauan land, waters and airspace for defence purposes, Remengesau writes that it also imposes environmental obligations that the U.S. military and its contractors have failed to meet.
Among the concrete allegations, the report says U.S. forces cleared land on the state of Angaur for a tactical mobile over-the-horizon radar system without securing required environmental earthmoving permits or holding community consultations mandated by Palauan law. It describes “piles of shredded tree debris” left at the site that risked attracting invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle, and notes local complaints that debris was later dumped on residents’ yards in a rushed cleanup attempt. Those actions are cited as examples of how statutory protections have been sidelined, the report says.
The environmental controversy has a legal dimension. Angaur Governor Steven Salii filed suit in 2023 against Palau’s national government, the Palau Environmental Quality Protection Board, the U.S. government and military contractors, alleging violations of Palauan environmental laws and compact provisions after the clearing of 271,807 square metres of land without an environmental impact assessment or permits, the report recounts.
The report also places the dispute in a broader geopolitical context: a renegotiated compact between Palau and the United States took effect on October 1, 2023, promising an $890 million package over 20 years and formalising U.S. defence responsibilities. Given that a large share of Palau’s national budget is supported by compact funds and foreign aid, the authors say, the island is likely to see increased U.S. military activity as Washington seeks to counterbalance China’s influence in the western Pacific.
One of the projects at the centre of concern is a U.S. radar initiative estimated at US$118 million and expected to be operational in 2026, according to the report. While the project is presented as part of regional security cooperation, the think tank warns that its rapid rollout and alleged procedural lapses have deepened local dissatisfaction and raised questions about how environmental and sovereignty protections will be enforced as strategic competition intensifies.
The new findings arrive as Palau seeks closer ties with other partners — signalled by Whipps’ State visit to New Zealand — even as it balances compact-linked dependence on U.S. funds and defence assurances. The Pacific Centre for Island Security’s report calls for stronger adherence to environmental law, more transparent community consultation, and clearer accountability mechanisms to ensure that security projects do not come at the expense of local ecosystems and legal rights. The controversies and litigation surrounding Angaur mean the issue is likely to remain a live one as the radar project becomes operational and Palau navigates its strategic relationships.
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