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KOROR, Palau — School students in Palau are taking on the United States military with a legal complaint to the United Nations over a “rapid and unprecedented wave of militarization” in their Pacific island nation.
They allege that American military activities are destroying ecosystems, disturbing sacred sites, threatening endangered species, and breaking laws that protect the environment and human rights.
The American military presence in Palau, an independent state in free association with the U.S., has grown in recent years amid mounting geo-strategic tensions with China over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
The archipelago’s location between the Philippines and Hawaii is part of a critical logistical network that allows the U.S. to move through the western Pacific and project power in East Asia.
But the military buildup in Palau is stoking unease among some in the country of 20,000 people, who worry their culture and pristine environment could be compromised.
Imaim Ngiraboi, 16, said it was a “bit intimidating” standing up to the world’s most powerful military, but it was important to inform people what was going on.
“As youth, we should be able to have a say in this and think about what we want from our future,” she told BenarNews in the city of Koror.
She is one of the seven teenagers, aged between 15 and 18, leading the pushback against U.S. military activity. Over the past year they travelled the length of the country visiting defense sites, interviewing local communities and documenting environmental impacts.
Last month the students filed a submission to the U.N. special rapporteur on the rights to a healthy environment and the special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous peoples. Together with the Ebiil Society, a local nonprofit, and human rights lawyers in Guam, they alleged American military violations of environmental laws and indigenous rights in Palau.
The group is among a young generation of Pacific activists using international legal mechanisms to fight for their rights, such as law students from Vanuatu who asked the International Court of Justice to give an opinion on states’ obligations to combat climate change.
‘Bulldozing’ through Palau
Palau is one of three Pacific island countries including the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia that give the U.S. exclusive military authority in their territories in exchange for economic assistance under compacts of free association.
The U.S. is now using the “compact provisions, which have never before been invoked, to justify a rapid and unprecedented wave of militarization throughout Palau,” according to the U.N. submission.
The Palauan students’ complaint is focused on six U.S. military sites spread between Palau’s northernmost tip and its southernmost edge, including an over-the-horizon radar facility and a WWII-era airstrip being upgraded by U.S. Marines on the island of Peleliu.
In many cases, the U.S. military had not undertaken adequate community consultation or obtained informed consent, said the teenagers, who conducted their research as a part of a social science class organized by the Ebiil Society.
“Most of the people we interviewed didn’t know about what was going on in their communities,” said 16-year-old Kimie-Maki Kelau Singeo.
“They didn’t tell the community. They were asking us questions.”
Ann Singeo, the Ebiil Society’s executive director, said environmental and cultural protection laws were being “violated left and right” across Palau.
“It’s almost like they are bulldozing their way through the islands,” the veteran environmental advocate told BenarNews.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees American forces in the region, did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.
But Palau President Surangel Whipps rejected any accusations that environmental laws had been broken or that local communities had not been adequately informed about military projects.
Whipps acknowledged there were concerns about militarization in the community, but argued that for a small nation like Palau, which has been subject to “unfriendly behavior” by China, having the protection of the U.S. was a good thing.
“We’ve always been a target because of our location, whether we like it or not,” he told BenarNews in an interview. “During World War II, we were a target and that’s why Japan built all the infrastructure here and used Palau because of our location.
“If you’re going to be a target, you need to make sure that you’re protected. Our forefathers decided that the best relationship that we could have with the United States is in free association … but as partners, we have some obligations.”
The U.N. submission is not the only complaint concerning U.S. military activity in Palau.
Angaur, the southernmost of Palau’s 16 states, is suing the U.S. and Palau governments and American military contractors for alleged violations of environmental laws and the compact of free association for work on the receiver of a “Tactical Mobile Over-the-Horizon Radar,” or TACMOR.
The TACMOR’s accompanying transmitter facility is being built in the northern state of Ngaraard, which has also accused the Palau government of deficiencies in the environmental permit process and requested approval to be rescinded, local media have reported.
Nest Mechaet, a state legislator for Elab hamlet where the transmitter facility is located, said the community of about 23 households was still largely in the dark about the potential environmental impacts.
She said there were fears that earthmoving might damage historical sites and affect sediment flows into the marine environment nearby, which is home to endangered dugongs, turtles and saltwater crocodiles.
“Some old people say there are ancient stone platforms here,” she told BenarNews, looking out over the bay below where the radar will be positioned.
“There are mangrove clams, sea cucumbers, fish – you name it. People are out there for food.”
It’s unclear what impact the Angaur lawsuit or calls for a review of the permit in Ngaraard will have on the radar, which the U.S. had originally aimed to complete by 2026.
The U.S. radar system, which will add to American early-warning capabilities for the western Pacific, is expected to bring economic benefits to the island including higher paying jobs and rental incomes.
On the island of Peleliu, where U.S. Marines are revamping the Japanese wartime airfield, some local chiefs and former legislators are seeking an injunction against a proposed constitutional amendment concerning military activity in the state.
Peleliu’s constitution currently requires the approval by 75% of residents in a referendum for any permanent military facilities to be built on the island or training to take place – a provision adopted after WWII.
Under the amendment, which was put on the ballot of a Dec. 3 state election, the article would be repealed and authority on military matters transferred exclusively to the governor and legislature, according to court documents reviewed by BenarNews. It also proposes reducing the size of the state government from 15 members to 11 and removing five seats reserved for traditional chiefs.
Whipps described a lot of the criticism about U.S. military projects in Palau as “misinformation” and suggested it was possibly “another Chinese attempt to convince people that things are really worse than they really are.”
But Singeo, from the Ebiil Society, said it was important to mobilize young people to fight for the “survival of a culture and nation.”
“No matter how strong they are, how big they are, this is not their home,” she said.
“For me as an adult, to not support the kids to do this is the same as condemning them to a future of chaos, conflict and keeping their head down not saying anything.”
BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.