China wants to control the Pacific
And when China attacks Taiwan
It might also target the US territory of Guam
Welcome to China Uncensored. I’m Chris Chappell.
The Chinese Communist Party wants to gain control over the Pacific.
The CCP is the biggest monster rising out of the Pacific Ocean since
the Kaiju.
China knows oceans of influence are key to its long Pacific game.
From China’s standpoint, Taiwan is part of the first island chain in the Pacific.
It blocks Chinese expansion.
A big reason China wants to invade Taiwan is to give them a base of operations to
control the Pacific. But if it does, the US and its allies could intervene.
This is where the island of Guam comes into play. It’s a US territory. It’s so far west,
it’s in the east. And it’s part of the second island chain in the Pacific.
Guam is home to about 170,000 US citizens.
Land-wise, it’s only a fifth the size of the smallest US state, Rhode Island.
But Guam is extremely important to US national interests.
“West of the International Date Line, Guam is roughly one-third the distance to China
and North Korea as it is to the mainland United States. And the military bases on Guam are the
closest on American soil to the places where China has been exerting military influence
in Taiwan and the South China Sea.”
Guam’s close proximity to China gives the US the
ability to respond much quicker to Chinese military threats.
And the US wouldn’t have to rely on cooperation from host countries like Japan and South Korea.
It’s always better when you can fix a problem yourself. Whether it
be changing your oil , repairing a leaky pipe , or
stopping an authoritarian regime from taking over the world.
Guam is home to Andersen Air Force Base and Naval Base Guam.
And since 2020, it’s also home to the Marine Corps base Camp Blaz.
They hold some of the most powerful aircraft the US has to offer.
Those include F-22s, B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s.
And hopefully some jaegers. It’s the only chance we have against
this threat in the Pacific.
Guam’s bases can also supply and repair aircraft carriers and submarines.
“Guam serves key theater operations and logistical support to all U.S.
forces in the region. [It] holds some of the Indo-Pacific’s most significant
ammunition and fuel storage capabilities, key intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.”
Guam is absolutely key to US defense. And China knows this.
More after the break.
Welcome back.
China wants to expand into the Pacific and invade Taiwan,
but US forces stationed in Guam pose a major point of resistance.
It’s the same kind of threat Imperialist Japan faced during World War II.
US presence in Guam gets in the way of anyone else controlling the Pacific.
That’s why Japan invaded Guam the day after it struck Pearl Harbor and dragged the US into war.
But China has a different idea. They don’t plan on invading and occupying Guam.
Which I gotta say, is uncharacteristically nice of them.
What’s that Shelley? Oh.
They plan on shooting Guam into oblivion. That’s
where China’s “Guam killer” missiles and hypersonic weapons come in handy.
And that plan is characteristically… characteristic of them.
And they’ve been practicing missile strikes on targets in both Taiwan and Guam.
And they aren’t shy about telling the world what they have planned.
“The highly produced piece released on a social media platform
shows Chinese bomber aircraft, capable of carrying nuclear weapons,
launching a simulated attack on what appears to be an American airbase in Guam.
“The Chinese video, named the God of War H6K, goes on the attack shows H6
bombers taking off from a desert base. “When the missile homes in, a satellite
image is shown that looks exactly like the layout of Anderson Air Force Base in Guam.”
I think we got the message.
This is like if OJ Simpson put out a book before Nicole Brown was murdered titled
‘If I Was Going To Do It.’
Guam is home to a lot of US citizens, and it’s of key importance to the US military in the Pacific.
Which is why it’s shocking just how unprepared the US is to defend it.
The US does have the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in Guam.
But that was designed to work against missiles from North Korea.
It's not enough to deal with Chinese cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles.
Guam doesn’t have long-range defenses like missile sites, artillery batteries, or coastal defenses.
The US experimented with Israel’s Iron Dome in Guam last year, but that was only for two months.
The Iron Dome has at least some capability of shooting down cruise missiles, but it
was designed for countering rockets, artillery, and mortars from a lower-tech enemy—Hezbollah.
It wouldn’t necessarily be very effective against China’s faster and more advanced missiles.
Even if it were, the US can’t really connect the Iron Dome
with the American air defense network, due to “interoperability challenges.”
Basically, the US can’t figure out the bluetooth settings.
Maybe this old guy just call his grandson and ask for help?
Some US officials even think defending Guam against Chinese missiles is a lost cause.
“I see, you know, where sometimes DOD senior
officials off the record saying, you know, it’s impossible. Missile’s are going to get through.”
But that doesn’t mean the US shouldn’t try.
And there are US efforts to try to improve Guam’s defenses.
The quickest solution would be to send ships fitted with the Aegis Weapons System to Guam.
Ships with that system can defend against ballistic and cruise missiles.
The Missile Defense Agency is asking for 360-degree sensor coverage,
missile defenses, and a command center in its 2023 budget request.
Because the best way to stop missiles is, of course,
throwing money at it.
This includes adding additional layers to
missile defense like Patriot missiles and more naval ships.
But the Missile Defense Agency’s goals to ramp up missile defense won’t be completed until 2026.
Which means the US’s biggest defense against the CCP is... hoping they procrastinate. Quick,
release the rest of the final season of Stranger Things in China!
Mabye that’ll distract them, and buy the US some time.
Even then, that may not be enough. The US
still doesn’t have the technology to counter China’s hypersonic missiles.
Projects like the Missile Defense Agency and Lockheed Martin’s Glide
Phase Interceptor program are in the works to do just that.
But the Missile Defense Agency isn’t even sure if the US can
get hypersonic missile interceptors before 2030.
2030?
Quick, release 9 more seasons of Stranger Things in China. You gotta keep stalling them somehow.
In the meantime, the US is focusing more on reducing losses if China strikes first.
I’ll explain after the break.
Welcome back.
Guam is underprepared for a Chinese missile strike. And the US may not
have the ability to defend against China’s most powerful weapons until the next decade.
One major move the US is focusing on is spreading its forces apart. It’s to reduce
the damage that Chinese missiles would inflict when they strike a single target.
Of course. Because any time China unleashes a deadly force,
our first solution is social distancing.
This is part of a concept called Agile Combat Employment, or ACE for short.
The US military is a real “ace” at making acronyms.
Back in 2018, then-Air Force General David Goldfein said,
“The premise behind ACE is instead of having a few... really big bases,
we disperse the forces and we become a lot more agile and a lot more mobile.”
ACE pairs bases like Andersen with a bunch of smaller airfields. Aircraft
stationed in those small airfields can operate for days or weeks at a time.
ACE is only a partial solution to the problem. While it may increase the chances of survival
for US military forces, this could strain supplies if our major bases get taken out.
After all, the more bases you build, the more supply chains you need
to reequip and refuel military equipment.
And as you may have noticed, the US is not doing so hot right now with supply chains.
“The challenge for the [US Air Force] is to survive the [Chinese military’s]
attacks and to eliminate the threats to its major bases before its supplies run out.”
Which is why I say: time to start building those Jaegers!
And hey, even if they don’t actually stop a Chinese PLA attack, at least they look cool.
So, what do you think? Leave your comments below.
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Once again, I’m Chris Chappell. Thanks for watching China Uncensored.