A new security report and a first-ever state visit to New Zealand have sharpened scrutiny of Palau’s deepening role in regional military plans, with environmental and sovereignty concerns front and centre.
The Guam-based Pacific Centre for Island Security’s Micronesia Security Outlook 2025, which includes a Palau chapter authored by Jodean Remengesau, says guardrails meant to protect Palau’s environment and sovereignty have been weakened by an accelerated U.S. military buildup. Remengesau — director of the Bureau of Agriculture in Palau’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment — wrote that the United States “had missed and fell short of fulfilling its duties and responsibilities under the compact” with Palau, accusing military actors of sidestepping environmental requirements enshrined both in Palauan law and the Compact of Free Association (COFA).
The report singles out the clearing of land on Angaur for a tactical mobile over‑the‑horizon radar site as a case in point. According to Remengesau, the site was prepared without an environmental earthmoving permit or the community consultations Palauan law requires, and the handling of shredded vegetation created conditions for an invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle infestation; debris was later dumped on residents’ yards in what the report describes as a rushed response. Angaur Governor Steven Salii filed suit in 2023 against Palau’s central government, the Palau Environmental Quality Protection Board, the U.S. government and military contractors, alleging violations of environmental law after 271,807 square metres of land were cleared without an environmental impact assessment or permits.
Those concerns come as the renegotiated COFA began its funding cycle on October 1, 2023, under which the United States pledged an US$890 million package to Palau over 20 years and reaffirmed its defence role. The new report notes that a significant share of Palau’s national budget is funded by compact payments and foreign aid, a dependence that the authors say increases the likelihood Palau will be further used for U.S. and allied security objectives as geopolitical competition in the region intensifies.
The U.S. military’s US$118 million radar project is slated to be operational this year, a development that the report says has contributed to local unease. It also flags how an installation originally presented as a jointly used shoreline radar has in practice become a more extensive U.S. military footprint than some Palauans were led to expect — a point that has fuelled debate over transparency and consent in project planning.
The report’s release coincides with President Surangel Whipps Jr.’s historic first state visit to New Zealand, an outreach move that underscores Palau’s expanding diplomatic engagement amid heightened strategic interest by major powers. Whipps’ visit — the first by a Palauan head of state to New Zealand — carries symbolic weight as Palau seeks partners and platforms to navigate environmental, legal and sovereignty questions tied to military infrastructure on its territory.
Analysts say the timing matters because legal challenges such as Governor Salii’s lawsuit remain unresolved and the radar system’s activation will materially change the security and environmental landscape. The Pacific Centre for Island Security’s findings add fresh momentum to calls for clearer accountability, stricter adherence to Palauan environmental law, and more meaningful community consultation as Palau balances defence relationships, aid dependence and protection of its land and marine environment.
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