Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

is the responsibility of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, but local

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

matters are handled by the Palau Police, the national

force. Some of the sixteen states also had separate police departments during the 1980s and 1990s. The Palau Bureau of Public Division of Marine Law Enforcement (DMLE) is responsible for marine surveillance, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue in Palau's

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potent ...

and its 200 nm exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The DMLE operated a

Pacific-class patrol boat The Pacific class (also known as the Pacific Forum classToppan & Walsh, ''World Navies Today: Other Asia-Pacific Navies'' and the ASI 315 class) is a class of 22 patrol boats built by Australia and donated to twelve South Pacific countries. Th ...

, the PSS ''President H.I. Remeliik'' which has now been replaced by the PSS Remeliik II. They also operate the ''PPS Kedam'' for use in maritime surveillance and fisheries control over Palau's EEZ. Its home port is Koror. The DMLE also operate three smaller 15-meter inshore patrol vessels, ''Euatel'', ''Kabekl M'tal'' and ''Bul'', used for surveillance of inshore and territorial waters. The ''Remeliik'' was donated and is maintained by Australia, who also provide training for the crew. The other four vessels were donated by

The Nippon Foundation of Tokyo, Japan, is a private, non-profit grant-making organization. It was established in 1962 by Ryoichi Sasakawa. The foundation's mission is to direct Japanese motorboat racing revenue into philanthropic activities, it uses this money t ...

and The Sasakawa Peace Foundation. In addition, DMLE have a search and rescue Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat (RHIB) and a twin 85 hp boat. They are used only for inshore operations. The Bureau of Public Safety Director is Aloysius Alonz. Palau has provided police officers to the

Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), also known as Operation Helpem Fren, Operation Anode and Operation Rata (by New Zealand), was created in 2003 in response to a request for international aid by the Governor-General of ...

since May 2006. Palauan Police officer Bryson Ngiratumerang is contingent commander of the Palauan police serving as part of RAMSI's Participating Police Force (PPF). The Palau Division of Maritime Law Enforcement has approximately 30 staff, 5 of which are paid for by The Nippon Foundation.

Equipment

Ships

* PSS Remeliik II * PSS Kedam *PSS Euatel *PSS ''Kabekl M'tal'' *PSS Bul

Former Ships

* PSS Remeliik

References

External links

Republic of Palau - The Executive BranchPalau , Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon IslandsSaipan Tribune
Politics of Palau Law of Palau {{Palau-stub