Visitor publish by Courtland Sykes
Since September 2024, China has launched a number of intermediate-range ballistic missiles over America’s most strategic place within the Pacific – Guam.
These weren’t random missile workout routines. These have been intentionally aimed toward U.S. territory. Oddly, nobody talked about it then, and nobody’s speaking about it now. And that’s precisely how China needs it.
Two Statements Launched from the Places of work of Homeland Safety and Civil Protection on 5 November and 25 September 2024.
Menace evaluation 1 – September 25, 2024 – unidentified projectile launch:
Menace evaluation 2 – November 5, 2024 – missile launch within the area:
Having hung my toes off the sting of the South Pacific on Guam these final 5 months, I can say the American public doesn’t notice how shut they’re to dropping the Pacific to China.
The implications? If we ceded the Pacific to China, the Western Hemisphere’s financial engine could be dominated by China and we might begin seeing Mandarin writing on U.S. street indicators inside 5 years.
Once I arrived in Guam, no person overtly acknowledged China’s effort to focus on our army services within the Pacific. Everyone knows China needs to invade Taiwan, however the concept that China’s ambition contains threatening U.S. territories appeared inconceivable. However I witnessed it myself.
On the time, I used to be fueling up at a gasoline station when sirens began wailing and loudspeakers known as all U.S. Sailors, Marines, and Airmen on Guam again to base to shelter in place. It was surreal.
On November 5, 2024, China launched one other missile over Guam. That it was Election Day again dwelling in America was completely no coincidence.
China has each intention of invading Taiwan ought to civil unrest develop within the U.S. They have been relying on home U.S. instability after the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, and may nonetheless if the federal authorities operates illegally towards President Trump throughout his second time period.
In preparation for U.S. instability, China developed a brand new missile for the only real function of wiping Guam off the map with their DF-26 missiles, dubbed the “Guam Killer.”
The stakes have by no means been larger for American stability within the Pacific. The truth is, geopolitical tensions within the Asia-Pacific area are larger than they’ve been since 1945, and now Guam has emerged as a pivotal battleground within the looming confrontation between the USA and China.
This growth not solely heightens the risk to this U.S. territory however underscores Guam’s strategic significance within the evolving dynamics of America’s international energy.
For weeks I racked my mind on methods to divert China’s crosshairs from Guam. Transfer an plane provider strike group to Guam? Preserve a extra strong diplomatic presence on the island.
Certainly, I’m not the one one questioning methods to resolve this strategic conundrum, however DoD management seems complacent – dare I say, comatose on this topic.
Worse, after the Biden administration managed to have 35,000 U.S. Marines and their households kicked out of Okinawa this 12 months, we’re down to 2 essential army and diplomatic positions within the Pacific, Hawaii and Guam.
Guam is formidable sufficient to be the most important goal for China however isn’t formidable sufficient for China to think about the island a non-option for army strikes.
Strategically, Guam is an important hub for American energy within the Pacific. Acquired by the U.S. after the Spanish-American Struggle in 1898, Guam turned a key outpost, particularly throughout World Struggle II, when it was captured by Japan and later retaken by U.S. forces.
Within the Chilly Struggle and past, Guam served as a vital base for projecting energy in Asia and deterring regional threats.
But, regardless of escalating regional tensions from North Korea and China, the U.S. in July 2024 scaled again its finances for Raytheon’s SM-6, SM-3 Block IIA, Lockheed Martin’s THAAD, and the Patriot PAC-3 air protection techniques on Guam.
This choice indicators a regarding shift away from sustaining Guam’s strong defensive infrastructure.
China’s army minds delighted at this winding down of sources on Guam. This was their likelihood. China’s DF-26 “Guam Killer,” able to precisely hanging targets over 3,000 miles away and carrying between 7 to 11 warheads per missile, represents a major development in China’s army capabilities.
With its skill to hold each standard and nuclear warheads, the “Guam Killer” poses a direct risk to U.S. army belongings stationed within the South Pacific, together with air and naval bases that function essential nodes in American protection technique within the Pacific.
Guam’s geographical location makes it a fulcrum for U.S. operations in Asia, offering a platform for energy projection and fast response to regional crises.
Guam’s strategic significance can’t be overstated. It’s not only a army outpost; it’s a image of American resolve within the face of rising authoritarianism. Guam is on the forefront of a possible showdown.
The U.S. should improve its protection posture in Guam, spend money on superior missile protection techniques, and fortify its present army infrastructure.
This contains not solely technological upgrades but additionally coaching.
Furthermore, diplomatic efforts have to be intensified to have interaction China with neighboring nations and cut back tensions fearlessly, because the stakes are too excessive for miscalculations that might spiral into armed battle.
However after all, none of this has been taking place beneath 4 years of Biden – and there’s little signal this drawback is on the radar of our incoming administration primarily as a result of army management appears hellbent on ignoring it.
So, how will we save our most strategic outpost towards China? As lately as a number of weeks in the past, it was a hopelessly doomed dilemma.
Then… lightning struck.
Future HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whereas on stage with Dr. Phil, laid out his plan for cleaning the bureaucracy. In what appeared to be a rhetorical joke, RFK stated we might ship Well being and Human Providers (HHS) bureaucrats, who can’t be fired, to Guam.
Whereas he was probably joking, I don’t suppose anybody realizes how sensible that is. Not solely to weed bureaucrats out of Washington, but it surely’s an precise resolution to our China-Pacific drawback.
If you wish to guarantee full bodily safety, fill a constructing with U.S. bureaucrats and use civil servants as a protect towards Chinese language aggression. Will probably be probably the most invaluable function they ever play of their ineffective careers.
The Pacific’s future hangs within the steadiness on the difficult intersection of U.S.-China relations. As each nations navigate this complicated panorama, Guam’s function on the frontlines can’t be ignored. However it’s. And China is aware of it.
RFK could have inadvertently mounted this gaping geopolitical gap.
Ship HHS to Guam and arm that island to the enamel! Whereas we’re at it, we might present the identical type of like to American Samoa… Division of Labor, maybe?
Concerning the Writer:
Courtland Sykes, a graduate of Harvard College and the Naval Struggle Faculty, is a fight veteran who served as an intelligence analyst with Navy SEAL Staff 5, NSW Unit 3, and the Protection Intelligence Company. Courtland spent 2023-2024 in Iraq and the South Pacific to give attention to hostile threats to the USA from Iran and China.
