Belau

• the republic of belau, also called palau, is a united nations trusteeship, administered by the united states, consisting of over 200 islands in the caroline chain in the pacific. the islands were occupied by germany from 1899 until the first world war, and then governed by japan until the second world war. the islands were captured by us forces in 1944 and 1945. they became the republic of belau in 1981. in 1982 belau signed a compact of free association with the united states, which would make belau a self-governing territory with its foreign and defence policy controlled by the us. implementation of the treaty was blocked by statutes in belau's constitution banning nuclear weapons, but a referendum in 1993 approved amendments which will cause the treaty to come into effect. belau exports tuna and copra. tourism is an important industry. large foreign debts are a serious economic problem.