A Guam-based security think tank has warned that Palau’s rapid military build-up is outpacing the legal and environmental safeguards meant to protect the island nation, and that local communities are being sidelined in the process. The Pacific Centre for Island Security’s Micronesia Security Outlook 2025, released this month, singles out specific instances where U.S. military activity in Palau has fallen short of the Compact’s environmental and consultation requirements, raising fresh concerns about sovereignty, environmental damage and accountability.
The Palau chapter 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 argues the Compact of Free Association—while granting the United States exclusive use of Palauan land, waters and airspace for defence purposes—also imposes environmental obligations that have not been met. “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 writes in the report.
The report documents an incident on Angaur, one of Palau’s 16 states, where land was cleared for a tactical mobile over‑the‑horizon radar site without an environmental earthmoving permit or the community consultations required under Palauan law. It says shredded tree debris left at the site invited invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle infestation and that debris was later dumped on residents’ yards in a rushed attempt to manage the problem. In 2023 Angaur Governor Steven Salii filed suit against Palau’s central government, the Palau Environmental Quality Protection Board, the U.S. government and military contractors, alleging the clearing of 271,807 square metres of land without an environmental impact assessment or permits.
The timing of the report coincides with renewed attention to Palau’s geopolitical role. Under the renegotiated compact, the United States pledged an US$890‑million assistance package to Palau over 20 years, a cycle that began on October 1, 2023. The report notes that a large portion of Palau’s national budget depends on compact funds and foreign aid, which may increase pressure on Palauan authorities to accommodate U.S. security objectives. That dynamic, the authors say, heightens the risk that environmental and sovereignty safeguards will be compromised as militarisation accelerates amid U.S.–China strategic competition in the region.
Technical and operational developments cited in the report include a US$118‑million radar project the U.S. military expects to have operational this year. The report also highlights that what was initially presented to Palauans as a single shoreline radar system for mutual use has effectively become two separate infrastructures—an arrangement with implications for how control, access and benefits are shared between Palau and U.S. forces.
Palau’s president, Surangel Whipps Jr., made a historic first State visit to New Zealand this month, a diplomatic milestone the report’s authors and local observers say underscores Palau’s efforts to broaden international ties as it navigates defence partnerships. The report’s findings and ongoing litigation by Angaur’s governor underscore growing domestic unease about how defence arrangements are being implemented and the need for clearer enforcement of environmental permitting and community consultation requirements under Palauan law.
The Pacific Centre for Island Security’s assessment is the latest development in an evolving debate over the balance between Palau’s security arrangements with the United States and the protection of local environments and decision‑making authority. The report calls into question whether existing “guardrails” in compacts and agreements are sufficient, and signals potential legal, political and diplomatic repercussions as Palau, the United States and other partners respond.
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