KOROR (Island Times/Pacnews) — The installation of a U.S. radar system in Palau will bring in $42.3 million to the island economy, according to U.S. Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, Joint Region Marianas commander.
He was in Palau for the second Joint Committee Meeting between the island nation and the U.S. The first meeting this year was held on Guam in May with the U.S Indo-Pacific Command hosting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. and U.S federal agency representatives.
Nicholson said the radar system will provide Palau with enhanced maritime law enforcement capability in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.
In addition, the deployment of U.S. military personnel to Palau will boost its tourism industry.
“So it’s a multifaceted way that I believe Palau benefits economically from this partnership with the U.S military,” Nicholson said.
He added that the relationship between Palau and the U.S highlights the importance of a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region.
“We are really concentrating our efforts on the Pacific region,” he said, referring to the U.S.
The U.S military presence in the region, he added, will deter “nefarious actors” in the Pacific.
“We realize how strategically important Palau is in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region. There are…nefarious actors that sometimes come into this area. And our presence here helps to thwart that to some degree,” he said.
Under their Compact of Free Association, the U.S is responsible for Palau’s defense.
“Our training opportunities that happen here in Palau are part of a larger, overall arching scheme that we have in the Indo-Pacific to ensure that we can defend our partners [which include] Palau — a partner that we will defend as if it were the homeland of the United States,” he said.
Benjamin Nicholson
