The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Senior Military Official in Guam and Palau Rear Adm. Greg Huffman, commander, Joint Task Force-Micronesia (JTF-M), the President of Palau Surangle Whipps, Jr., and the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Palau Joel Ehrendreich hosted a bilateral Palau-U.S. Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) in Peleliu, Sept. 16-17.
Senior leaders including ambassadors, ministers, senators, governors, and advisors from across the Republic of Palau gathered with representatives from the U.S. Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Corps, and other governmental organizations for the two-day event to discuss the United States’ ongoing commitment to security and defense in the region.
“The foundation of the Joint Committee Meeting is our robust partnership,” Huffman said. “In order for our military to train and operate here — to protect and defend the Republic of Palau — it is essential for the right infrastructure to be in place. While there is much progress ahead, I’m so proud of the work we have already accomplished together. The improvements we have made will benefit both the Palau community and our military force, strengthening our defensive posture in the region for years to come.”
Held a day after Marine Corps Forces, Pacific’s ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Peleliu and located adjacent to the memorial, the meeting focused on working together to protect Palau’s national sovereignty, territory, domestic population, and critical infrastructure against external threats and aggression. Subject-matter experts provided briefs on progress made in Palau over the past six months in addition to plans for future collaboration with Palau national and regional law enforcement, and capacity building to improve internal stability, maritime security, cyber security, maritime domain awareness, border protection capabilities, and maritime safety; and increasing capacity- building efforts to improve Palau’s incident response readiness.
“I commend everybody for the spirit of cooperation and collaboration that all have shown during this important meeting,” Ehrendreich said. “This is really a great representation of the state of U.S.-Palau relations right now — the outstanding partnership and cooperation we have.”
This was the first Palau-U.S. Joint Committee Meeting held since Huffman assumed responsibilities as the first commander of JTF-M in June. Once fully operational, JTF-M will synchronize operations and activities across all domains, enabling a robust warfighting posture while enhancing partner nation capacity. Dedicated to promoting regional stability, JTF-M will perform homeland defense, Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA), and foreign humanitarian assistance through a whole-of-government approach within its assigned joint operations area.
