According to India's Eurasian Times website reported on January 18, 2022, the United States has recognized that China's growing military power has the potential to damage U.S. military facilities in the Pacific Rim. Realizing this, the United States refocused its attention on Guam, home to U.S. Anderson Air Force Base and Apra Naval Base.
According to CNN, on January 15, 2022, the Ohio-class nuclear submarine "Nevada", carrying 20 Trident ballistic missiles and dozens of nuclear warheads, arrived at the U.S. Naval Base in Guam in the Pacific.
This is the first visit to Guam by a U.S. ballistic missile nuclear submarine since 2016 and the second public visit since the 1980s.
[Since 2016, the USS Ohio-class nuclear submarine "Nevada" has visited the Guam Naval Base for the first time]
"This port call strengthens cooperation between the United States and its allies in the region, demonstrating U.S. capabilities, flexibility, state of readiness, and an ongoing commitment to security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region," the U.S. Navy said in a statement. ”
Analysts say tensions in the Indo-Pacific region have risen sharply since 2016, and U.S. power is expected to continue under the current circumstances.
While U.S. Navy frigates and destroyers often dock at U.S. naval bases or ports in friendly countries, the submarine stands out for being a ballistic missile nuclear submarine. The trajectories of the U.S. Navy's 14 Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines are generally kept strictly confidential.
According to the U.S. Navy, Ohio-class nuclear submarines stay at sea for an average of 77 days before returning to port for repairs and resupply. Outside of Bangor, Washington, the home port of the Ohio-class nuclear submarine, and Kings Bay, Georgia, people don't even get pictures of it. According to CNN, because of their secrecy, ballistic missile nuclear submarines are "the most critical surviving pillar of a nuclear Trinity strike force."
[The US Ohio-class ballistic missile nuclear submarine has a very low noise]
While the U.S. prefers to keep its nuclear submarines secretive, calling them ports is a demonstration of U.S. power and power in the Pacific. It was interpreted as a warning sign to its two rivals, China and North Korea.
Analysts say North Korea's ballistic missile submarine program is still in its early stages, while China's ballistic missile submarines pale in comparison to the U.S. Navy.
Alessio Patalano, a professor in the Department of War and Strategic Studies at King's College London, noted that in addition to sending political signals, the nearby USS Nevada ballistic missile submarine "provides an important opportunity to learn how to hunt down other actors in the region."
"It sends a message — whether intentionally or unintentionally: We can park more than 100 nuclear warheads on your doorstep, and you can't even know it and can't do much about it." And you can't do it right now, and you can't do it for a long time," Thomas Schugart, a former captain of a U.S. Navy submarine and now an analyst at the Center for New American Security, told U.S. media.
Even U.S. experts admit that Guam is within the range of China's DF-26 missile, and foreign media refer to the DF-26 missile as the "Guam Killer," which makes the U.S. military restless.
[China's DF-26 medium-range ballistic missile is known as the "Guam Killer"]
The Chinese People's Liberation Army believes the United States has a second line of defense east of Japan, and Guam is the most important base in the Mariana Islands chain. Anderson Air Force Base, which occupies much of northern Guam, is the only U.S. base in the western Pacific capable of deploying heavy bombers for a long time. During any potential conflict with China, Guam will be a key location. To evade detection, submarines leaving the Guam naval base may quickly dive into the deep sea.
Author: Ningpu
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