The father of the Palau President served in the U.S. Army as a medic in
the 1960s. There still have about 500
Palauans in the ranks across the forces of the U.S. today.
The Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Defense (DoD) said that the U.S. commits to the defense responsibilities of
Palau as a part of the Compact of Free Association. The U.S. military presence in Palau and
across the Pacific Islands is vital to maintain peace.
The President of Palau Surangel Whipps Jr. expressed that Palau and the U.S.
jointly protect the homeland, and Palau and the other FAS states are considered
part of the homeland. He was watching
Special Forces conducts exercises in Palau a few weeks ago. He indicated that one of the critical parts
of that is that those rights and -- and responsibilities under the compact
between Palau and the United States when it comes to security and defense are
perpetual.
鞏固第二島鏈 學者：美軍可能進駐帛琉 自由 20210816
〔國際新聞中心／綜合報導〕就在台灣和帛琉重啟「旅遊泡泡」之際，分析家指出，由於中國擴張軍力亟欲突破「第一島鏈」，而且解放軍的長程飛彈可直搗關島，威脅印太地區和美國本土安全，因此美軍為了分散風險，極可能進駐帛琉等「第二島鏈」國家。
帛琉總統惠恕仁（Surangel Whipps, Jr.）本月出訪美國，在夏威夷會見美國印太司令部司令阿基里諾（John Aquilino），並前往五角大廈拜會美國國防部長奧斯汀（Lloyd J. Austin），雙方討論美軍進駐帛琉的必要性，及其可能對中國的嚇阻效果。帛琉官方形容，惠恕仁此行具有「歷史意義」。
在此之前，前美國國防部長艾斯培（Mark Esper）去年8月曾訪問帛琉，成為首位任內踏上帛琉領土的美國防長。當時擔任帛琉總統的雷蒙傑索（Tommy Remengesau）透露，他在親手交給艾斯培的信中提到，歡迎美國在帛琉興建基地、港口、機場等軍事設施，並定期使用。雷蒙傑索還呼籲美國利用「自由聯合協定」（COFA）機制，在帛琉常駐美軍部隊。
「自由聯合協定」是美國與密克羅尼西亞聯邦、馬紹爾群島及帛琉等3個太平洋島國簽署的國際協定，允許美國在協定涉及地區採取軍事行動，協商徵用土地做為軍事基地，以及驅逐其他國家未獲得美國許可的軍事力量。
惠恕仁此次訪美雖然並未直接開口邀請美軍在帛琉設置基地，但他歡迎美軍在當地展開更多活動。奧斯汀則感謝帛琉願意接納美軍，並讓美軍有機會在帛琉部署，美國在帛琉和整個太平洋島嶼的軍事存在，對雙方的夥伴關係和繁榮的共同目標非常重要。
對於美國和帛琉的軍事合作，國防安全研究院決策推演中心博士後研究員章榮明向「美國之音」（VOA）表示，惠恕仁拜會奧斯汀，五角大廈完整公佈兩人談話的逐字稿，沒有任何避諱，顯然是在傳遞美軍將加強在帛琉部署軍事力量的訊息，他預期美軍將在帛琉部署多領域部隊（multi-domain
task force）。
章榮明指出，基於歷史因素，美軍在第二島鏈可使用的海、空軍基地稀少，目前僅有關島及鄰近的天寧島（Tinian）。在中國已有能力突破第一島鏈的前提下，該兩處的美軍基地不足以固守第二島鏈，但美國若與帛琉合作，將可緩解第二島鏈缺乏軍事基地的困境。
章榮明指出，多領域部隊旨在對抗敵軍於該作戰領域的「反介入／區域拒止」（A2/AD）作為，亦即避免中國和俄羅斯等敵軍在作戰區劃定禁區，阻止美國的武裝干預。多領域部隊可望配備遠端精確武器、超音速飛彈、精確打擊飛彈等，也具備電子戰和網路能力，可有效壓制中俄的部分軍事能力。
章榮明指出，台灣重要防禦設施都部署在西岸，東邊防禦相對脆弱，中國若繞過最南端的恆春半島直搗東岸，將威脅到台灣安全。美軍若進駐帛琉並興建新基地，將可扮演要塞角色，一旦台灣遭到中國攻擊，美軍不僅可從關島派兵支援，亦可迅速從帛琉啟航。
不過，國防安全研究院國防戰略與資源研究所所長蘇紫雲認為，中國的「東風—26B」彈道飛彈已威脅到關島，也可直搗帛琉，因此美軍在帛琉闢建大型軍事基地的可能性不高。
不過，蘇紫雲也表示，若在帛琉增加小型軍力的配置，例如無人機、無人艦、無人潛艦等，則頗為符合拜登政府的「睡蓮」戰略思維，亦即在印太地區廣泛建立軍事基地，提升與盟國友邦的軍事合作關係，以利分擔經費；而藉由這些基地，美軍就可以像蛙跳般靈活地躍向任何目標，並且避免日本、沖繩、關島等主要基地被摧毀的風險。
Readout of Secretary
of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Meeting With President of Republic of Palau, President
Surangel Whipps Jr. DoD 20210805
Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd. J. Austin III met today with the President of
the Republic of Palau, President Surangel Whipps Jr., to reaffirm the Department
of Defense’s resolute commitment to the defense
of Palau and discuss the United States - Palau strategic
partnership.
Secretary Austin and President Whipps acknowledged the shared values and principles
our nations promote to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Secretary Austin
and President Whipps also reinforced the strategic importance of the Pacific Islands
region and the critical role of U.S. presence and investments
in Palau.
Palauan President,
Austin Discuss Indo-Pacific Security Concerns
DoD 20210805
Palauan President
Surangel Whipps Jr. met with Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III at the Pentagon
to discuss ways to strengthen the ties between the two nations to provide for a
secure and free Indo-Pacific.
The Republic of Palau is 340-plus islands strategically placed in the Western
Pacific bordering the Philippines. The nation became independent in 1981 and entered
a Compact of Free Association with the United States in 1994.
Palau is heavily dependent on tourism and has some of the best scuba diving
spots in the world. While the nation has felt the effects of the COVID-19
pandemic — tourism has been curtailed — it has been very successful in combating
the virus itself. "Today, you have, as I understand it, zero confirmed cases,"
Austin said at the beginning of the meeting with the president. "And Palau
is the first country that vaccinated 80 percent of the population," said Austin,
adding that the statistic is impressive.
Austin began the meeting by thanking President Whipps for the service of his
father in the U.S. Army during the 1960s. As part of the compact, Palauns serve
in the U.S. military. Austin noted that 500 of the president's countrymen serve
today.
"I want to underscore that the Department of Defense is deeply committed
to our defense responsibilities as a part of the Compact of Free Association, and
we look forward to successful negotiations of the economic assistance provisions
of that compact that will strengthen our strategic partnership and help us to promote
a free, open and secure region," Austin said.
Palau hosts U.S. forces, and, as the Indo-Pacific becomes ever more important
to the United States, the nation will play a greater role. "We appreciate the
opportunity to also deploy equipment to Palau that lets us exercise our joint capability
and enhanced deterrence," the secretary said. "The U.S. military presence
in Palau and across the Pacific Islands is deeply important to our shared goals
of partnership and prosperity, and we are grateful for your cooperation and hospitality."
Whipps told Austin that the partnership between Palau and the United States
is special. He said during a recent meeting on Guam, the DOD personnel said they
were committed to defending the homeland, and Palau is part of the homeland, he
said.
"I always say that presence is deterrence," Whipps said. "I
was fortunate a few weeks ago to be watching U.S. special forces conduct exercises
in Palau. It was extremely exciting to see what they're capable of doing. We want
to continue to strengthen the partnership because we believe in a free and open
Indo-Pacific."
SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Well, good afternoon, President Whipps. Welcome to the Pentagon, and thanks for making
the trip from Palau.
It -- well, just last week, I returned from a sling through Southeast Asia
as we were talking about coming up the stairs, and so I -- I understand the -- the
issue of jetlag, and I hope that jetlag's not treating you too bad right now, so...
On behalf of the Department of Defense, I'd like to start by thanking your father for his service as a medic in the U.S. Army in
-- in 1960s. He's actually a part
of a long and proud history of Palau, and service in the U.S. military, and today,
about 500 Palauans are in our ranks across the force,
and we thank them for their service.
I also want to commend you, sir, and to the people of Palau for your success
in -- in fighting COVID-19. Today, you have,
as I understand it, zero confirmed cases, and Palau was the first country to vaccinate
80 percent of its population. That, sir,
is an impressive feat.
And Mr. President, I'm looking forward to talking with you today about the
important partnership between our countries, and about the vision that we share
of a free and open Indo-Pacific, and thank you for continuing to uphold the values
and principles that we share with our allies and partners in the region. And to that end, I want to underscore that the
Department of Defense is deeply committed to our
defense responsibilities as a part of the
Compact of Free Association, and we look forward to successful negotiations
of the economic assistance provisions of that compact
that will strengthen our strategic partnership and help us to promote a free,
open and secure region.
Mr. President, I also want to personally thank you for Palau's willingness to host U.S. forces. As you know, since 1970, U.S. civic action teams
have deployed to Palau to support a broad range of initiatives, and we appreciate
the opportunity to also deploy equipment to Palau that lets us exercise in our joint
capabilities and enhanced deterrence. The U.S. military presence in Palau and across the Pacific
Islands is deeply important to our shared goals of partnership and prosperity,
and we are grateful for your cooperation and hospitality.
And again, Mr. President, it is a delight to have you here. Thank you for making the trip to Washington, and
I'm looking forward to the discussion. Sir?
PRESIDENT SURANGEL
WHIPPS JR.:
First of all, good afternoon. It's
-- and I hope you're not suffering from too much jetlag. But on behalf of the delegation that is here with
me today, and especially members of our congress, we have, from our senate side,
our vice president of the senate and from the house of delegates.
SEC. AUSTIN: Sir.
PRES. WHIPPS: (inaudible) chairman of our ways and
means committee and the rest of our delegation -- ambassador and our chief of staff. We are just extremely grateful to be here and
giving us the time to come and talk about mutual areas of interest. I think the partnership between Palau and the
United States is special. It really highlights
the importance of this partnership when we were attending the JCM meeting in Guam with your team from INDOPACOM,
and they reminded us of how we jointly protect the
homeland and Palau and the other FAS states
that are considered part of the homeland, and that's an important part
of the relationship.
And we always say that presence is deterrence, and by seeing activities, I
was fortunate a few weeks ago to be watching Special
Forces conduct exercises in Palau, and it was extremely exciting to see what
they're capable of doing, and I -- I think it makes the people of Palau feel secure, and we appreciate that. And we welcome more activities by the military
because in small island countries we have difficult challenges when it comes to
keeping our economy robust and growing -- and strong, and -- and the military provides
areas to enhance our economy. So having those troops coming in to exercise helped boost our economy
a little bit, while we have no tourists right now, so it's very much appreciated.
And -- and we want to continue to strengthen the partnership because we believe
in a free and open Indo-Pacific. And there
are many challenges, which we'd like to discuss further. And especially when it comes to our compact, I
think one of the key parts of that is that those
rights and -- and responsibilities under
the compact between Palau and the United States when it comes to security
and defense are perpetual, and that relationship
needs to -- on the economic side needs to be strengthened, and -- and we hope that
we can continue to work on that while we're here, so thank you. Thank you, and...
SEC. AUSTIN: Well, thank you.
(CROSSTALK)
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