KOROR STATE GOVERNMENT MARINE TOUR GUIDE ... - C3

5.1.3 Modern Times
At the start of the First World War, Japan took over the Carolines in 1914. As a
Japanese colony until World War II, Palau attained a modern infrastructure including
harbors, roads, bridges, sewage systems, and electricity – along with expansion of the
copra industry and phosphate production. Japanese military authority was replaced in
1922 by the civilian South Seas Bureau, and the administrative center of Koror had a
population of 25,000 Japanese (four times the local population) in 1935. Then Japan
began to build up its military forces in the Pacific, setting up fortifications in the Carolines
and making them a closed military area in 1938.
After Japan entered the war, Palau became a base from which to enter the Philippines.
Micronesia remained under US military control for two years after the war ended. Palau
became part of the US-administered UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) in
1947 and was the last of four political entities that emerged from the now defunct TTPI.
A nuclear-free constitution was adopted on January 1, 1981, but this long delayed a
mutually acceptable Compact of Free Association because it was seen as incompatible
with the US perceptions of its defense interests. The compact agreement between Palau
and the United States in 1986 gave the islands independence subject to defense being
the responsibility of the United States for 50 years. Successive referenda in Palau,
however, failed to produce a 75% majority. In 1987, Palau voted to amend the
Constitution to allow approval of the compact by a simple majority. In a subsequent
plebiscite, 73% of the votes were cast for the compact, but the Palau Supreme Court
ruled this invalid in August 1988. The courts also ruled there were inconsistencies
between the compact and Palau’s nuclear-free constitution, which was incompatible with
the US defense policy, an impasse which was broken when Palau revised its
constitution. Agreements with the Bush Administration in 1989 provided assistance in
paying off foreign debt and funds for new development. The Belau people remained
citizens of TTPI. On November 9, 1993, a 68% majority voted in favor of the compact.
After this vote, Palau achieved self-government on 1 October 1994.
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