When the United States launched its historic military gambit against Iran’s nuclear program, the world’s gaze was trained thousands of kilometres away on a Pacific island.
Officials made a decoy of the US territory of Guam when, before the strike on Iran in June, they announced stealth bombers had arrived at the island’s air base.
But it was a group of seven other B-2 bombers dispatched from Missouri that dropped the payload on Iranian nuclear facilities.
B-2 stealth bombers flew to Guam as a decoy during “Operation Midnight Hammer”, which targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities. (AP: Mark Almond)
For Micronesians, the military feint confirmed some of their worst fears about the US’s presence in the region, and they felt their peaceful islands had been used as pawns.
“If you’re a resident of Guam, you’re thinking you’re just fodder in the case of a conflict,” says Robert Underwood, a former delegate for the territory to the US House of Representatives.
The US is rapidly expanding its military presence in Micronesian island nations and territories, building radar facilities, upgrading ports, and reviving World War II-era airstrips.
For the first time since WWII, it is establishing several permanent military positions throughout the northern Pacific — in Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Northern Marianas — as it prepares for a potential conflict with China.
These sites are part of the “second island chain” — a secondary ring of US-led military positions in the Pacific region projecting American power and aiming to contain China in any possible future conflict.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the islands earlier this year as “the tip of America’s spear” in the Pacific.
But for nearly a quarter of a million people, the “island chain” is home, and some fear the US military presence makes them a target.
US ‘presence is deterrence’, Pacific leader says
China has the capability to strike US military assets in the region, and has developed its first conventionally armed DF-26 ballistic missile, known as “the Guam killer”.
“Guam is the tip of the spear, but it’s also the bullseye,” said Mr Underwood, who is chair of the Pacific Center for Island Security, a think tank specialising in regional strategic challenges.
Guam is home to two major military bases and the US is building an $8 billion missile-defence system — similar to Israel’s “Iron Dome” — designed to provide 360-degree protection.
China has an arsenal of DF-26 ballistic missiles capable of reaching US military assets in the Pacific. (Reuters: Andy Wong)
But the US is hedging against an attack on Guam by spreading its military assets across other Pacific islands.
They include Palau, a Micronesian nation and popular tourist destination — and increasingly, a stop for overseas militaries.
As the ABC visited Palau’s largest city, Koror, three visiting Taiwanese warships and one US Navy vessel cut dramatic silhouettes across the otherwise postcard-picture bay.
US warship the USS Preble recently stopped at Palau. (ABC News: Hugo Hodge)
Palau is one of three remaining Pacific nations keeping diplomatic ties with the democratic, self-governing island of Taiwan, over China.
It also maintains a Compact of Free Association (COFA) agreement with the US, granting the superpower’s armed forces unfettered access to territory in exchange for hundreds of millions in government funding.
Experts say China is preparing to invade Taiwan, which it claims as its own, and warn that this could bring both the US and Palau into a regional conflict.
Still, Palau’s government has welcomed the US military’s investments and, in a recent address, its president said the country was “already at war” with China.
“Because of our location, we are under constant threat … and the best way to combat this is through partnership with like-minded nations,” he said.
President Surangel Whipps Jr told the ABC the US’s “presence is deterrence” for Palau.
Palau’s government renewed its COFA agreement with the US last year. (ABC News: Hugo Hodge)
“The US under the compact is responsible for our security and defence,” Mr Whipps said.
“We know that the US has a very sophisticated military and an advanced military, and if you want peace, you get it through strength, as Trump says and also as [former US president] Reagan said.”
Anxiety on Angaur
Outside Palau’s government circles, attitudes towards the US military presence are also largely positive, and the rate of Palauans enlisting in the American armed forces is higher than in any US state.
But not everyone is as comfortable with hosting the growing number of US military assets.
“To bring all of these infrastructures that serve war into Palau puts us at the centre of a war field,” conservationist Ann Singeo told the ABC.
“We’re just a war shield to them. We’re disposable to them.“
To fully understand the US military’s relationship with Palau, the ABC travelled to Angaur in the country’s south — a tropical paradise home to fewer than 200 people, and the scene of a fierce WWII battle when American troops invaded and claimed it from Japanese forces.
US troops took control of Angaur Island from Japanese forces in World War II. (AP: Joe Rosenthal)
Angaur’s inhabitants escaped to its caves for safety, and the Americans created an airstrip using bulldozers.
Peace has long since returned to the island, but now the bulldozers are back, and locals fear the caves won’t protect them a second time.
The new US radar site in Angaur has left some in the island community feeling uneasy. (Reuters: Hollie Adams)
The US military is building a radar facility — called Tactical Mobile Over-the-Horizon Radar — at Angaur, designed to detect incoming attacks and disperse aircraft along the “second island chain”.
Governor Natus Misech, who oversees the island, says there is “high anxiety” that the radar will make it a target in a conflict.
“The first thing they will do is eliminate the communication,” he said.
“That’s communication right there.”
Fighting for a ‘way of life’
Elsewhere, Palauans are pushing back against what they see as devastating side effects of the US military’s expanding presence.
Seven high school students have co-signed a legal complaint to the United Nations alleging the US military has violated human rights by destroying the environment and local indigenous culture.
Some Angaur residents say the US didn’t consult them enough before building the radar facility. (Reuters: Hollie Adams)
The complaint alleges the military began razing forests and constructing radar facilities without conducting an environmental impact assessment or obtaining relevant permits in violation of Palau’s law.
Seventeen-year-old Imaim Ngiraboi says the group wants the military to “own up to their actions”.
“They’re harming not just the environment but the locals and their way of life,”
she said.
The ABC spoke to residents on Angaur who also said the US had conducted minimal community consultations before building the radar facility there.
US ambassador to Palau Joel Ehrendreich said his country was committed to transparency and environmental stewardship, adding that it had “actively engaged with residents” to answer their questions.
“The US takes these matters seriously and will continue to engage with local leaders and residents to address questions and ensure the project aligns with shared goals,” he said.
Fears that Palauans will ‘pay the price’
While the US is spending billions on its military presence in the Pacific, it is pulling back on regional foreign aid programs.
And Palauans say the military spending is also not extending to those who have served in its armed forces.
Norvert Yano, the vice president of the local veterans association, said Palauan veterans have historically not received the same medical services or level of benefits and support as their US counterparts.
Norvert Yano served in the US special forces for 27 years. (ABC News: Hugo Hodge)
While the US Congress passed a bill last year aiming to provide hospital care and medical services for veterans in COFA nations like Palau, the Trump administration has drastically reshaped federal spending.
Mr Yano says the US Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, could release the funds if he “feels like doing it”.
“I don’t know if they’re really serious about providing [the benefits].“
But US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said last year’s bill “did not adequately fund veterans’ health care” in any of the COFA nations.
“While the VA has not yet expanded direct care to the [freely associated states], we continue to explore options to provide the highest quality care to eligible veterans in the region,” Mr Kasperowicz said.
Despite his battle for veterans’ health care, Mr Yano still thinks Palau is better off with US protection.
But other Palauans are not so sure.
Ms Singeo says she was fearful of what the future holds under US stewardship.
“The environment has paid a price,” she said.
“Eventually, the people of those communities will pay the price.”
With additional reporting by James Nokise in Palau.
