The question is, as the most important central base of the US military in the Pacific region, when did Guam become the "backyard of China"? In other words, the U.S. military now believes that although Guam, far from China's coast, is located in the second island chain, it is already under the PLA's long-range strike firepower. The Pentagon report acknowledges that from the PLA Rocket Force's "Guam Express" - the "Dongfeng-26" medium- and long-range missiles, to the PLA Navy submarines' submarine-launched cruise missiles, to the PLA Air Force's H-6K mounted air-launched missiles, they all have the ability to paralyze the U.S. military base in Guam. For the US military, the blockade of the Chinese Navy by the first island chain is now in name only, and the available US military bases in the second island chain are also very limited. From this perspective, the US media calls Guam "China's back garden", although the Chinese may think that the "China threat" is exaggerated, but behind this is the US military's urgent concerns - once Guam is lost, the US military's foothold in the Pacific region will retreat to Hawaii in the central Pacific thousands of kilometers away, and half of the vast Pacific will become the activity site of the Chinese Navy. Wouldn't Guam become "China's back garden" by then?
The report said that photos released by the US Department of Defense showed that on July 2, the US cruise missile nuclear submarine Florida reloaded an unknown number of Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Guam Naval Base. It is not common for the Pentagon to proactively disclose the exact location of its nuclear submarines, let alone proactively provide information on their ammunition replenishment. "However, these surfaced nuclear submarines can send military signals to potential adversaries such as China and Russia." The report claimed that the deployment of the Florida in Guam and the reloading of cruise missiles coincided with the strengthening of military cooperation between China and Russia, and the two sides recently conducted a joint naval exercise and patrol.
According to information provided by the Pentagon, the USS Florida is one of the four Ohio-class cruise missile nuclear submarines currently in service in the United States. One of them is that they are converted from "Ohio" class strategic nuclear submarines, and the launch tubes of the original "Trident 2" submarine-launched intercontinental missiles are equipped with seven-unit "Tomahawk" cruise missiles. Vertical launch system, on average each Ohio-class cruise missile nuclear submarine can carry up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles.
In November 2023, the Florida entered the Red Sea and subsequently participated in the offensive against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. After leaving the Middle East, it arrived at the Diego Garcia Naval Base in the Indian Ocean in February this year for rest and recuperation. The reloading of cruise missiles in Guam this time is to replenish the ammunition consumed in the air strikes against the Houthi armed forces. Brian Herring, a former U.S. Navy submariner who served on the submarine, told Newsweek that the reloading of ammunition by submarines at overseas bases is of great value. In recent years, the U.S. Navy has repeatedly warned that if a large-scale conflict breaks out with China in the Western Pacific, U.S. Navy ships may run out of all vertical launch system ammunition after one or two fierce naval battles, and then be forced to return to distant naval bases such as Guam or even Hawaii to be replenished.
A report released last month by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a US think tank, showed that the US Navy currently has a total of about 9,900 vertical launch units, while the Chinese Navy has about 4,200. However, in the next few years, the Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Ohio-class cruise missile submarines, which are equipped with the largest number of vertical launch units in the US Navy, will all be retired, which will have a serious impact on the combat effectiveness of the US Navy - only four Ohio-class cruise missile submarines represent more than half of the vertical launch capability of the US submarine force, providing "unprecedented" strike capabilities. The report said that by 2027, the number of vertical launch units in the Chinese Navy will exceed that of the United States.
Anderson Air Force Base is the main gathering place for US bombers in the Western Pacific region.
Having said so much, why do the US media call Guam, where the US military currently has a large number of troops, "China's backyard"? The report explained that Guam is located 1,500 miles east of the Philippines and is an ideal frontier base for the United States to assemble and project military power in the Western Pacific. Currently, the US Air Force's Anderson Air Force Base and the US Navy's Apra Air Force Base are deployed here, and the US Marine Corps is also building a large number of missile defense systems here. In addition, the US Missile Defense Agency has also taken the lead in jointly deploying various US military services in Guam. To guard against "attacks from China."
In other words, the U.S. military now believes that although Guam, far from China's coast, is located in the second island chain, it is already under the PLA's long-range strike firepower. The Pentagon report acknowledges that from the PLA Rocket Force's "Guam Express" - the "Dongfeng-26" medium- and long-range missiles, to the PLA Navy submarines' submarine-launched cruise missiles, to the PLA Air Force's H-6K mounted air-launched missiles, they all have the ability to paralyze the U.S. military base in Guam.
Furthermore, during the long-distance training of China's two active aircraft carriers, the Liaoning and Shandong, in recent years, they have almost always approached Guam to "check in". For example, in December 2022, the Liaoning aircraft carrier formation approached within about 500 kilometers of Guam for the first time during long-distance training. Considering the combat radius of the aircraft carrier-based aircraft, Guam has been included in the strike range of the Liaoning aircraft carrier. Since then, the Liaoning and Shandong have also approached Guam many times, and the distance is getting closer and closer...
For the US military, the blockade of the Chinese Navy by the first island chain is now in name only, and the available US military bases in the second island chain are also very limited. From this perspective, the US media calls Guam "China's back garden", although the Chinese may think that the "China threat" is exaggerated, but behind this is the US military's urgent concerns - once Guam is lost, the US military's foothold in the Pacific region will retreat to Hawaii in the central Pacific thousands of kilometers away, and half of the vast Pacific will become the activity site of the Chinese Navy. Wouldn't Guam become "China's back garden" by then?
Source Guancha.
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