The flag was instituted in 1978, before the inauguration of the autonomous government. It is a simple design with four stars designed on the light blue base. The number of stars represent the history of how the UN trust territories separated into three independent nations of Palau, Marshall Islands, and the North Mariana Islands, and Micronesia under U.S. rule. Also, the stars on the blue base express how the nation is composed of four main islands, on the Pacific Ocean.