With the rapid modernization of the People's Liberation Army, Guam in the second island chain region has played an increasingly important role in the strategic planning of the US military. Guam is strategically hidden relative to its geographical location in the first island chain. However, the U.S. military is also fully aware that despite Guam's location in the second island chain, the PLA's long-range missile threat cannot be underestimated, leaving U.S. military bases on Guam within range at all times. To enhance the PLA's threat, the U.S. military decided to strengthen Guam's air defense and missile defense systems, aiming to make it "the strongest air defense area in the world."
The United States plans to add 20 new air and missile defense facilities to Guam, including THAAD for medium- and high-altitude interception, Patriot for terminal interception, and Typhon for firing Standard 6 and Tomahawk missiles. This series of measures is aimed at strengthening Guam's air defense and anti-missile barrier. As the core area of the second island chain, Guam has an extremely important strategic position for the US military. The United States has deployed several military bases to serve as forward bases for further operations in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The security situation in Guam had a direct impact on the operational capabilities of the United States military in the area, and the United States therefore attached great importance to the defense of Guam.
In the past, the U.S. military has used a variety of tactics to bolster Guam's defenses, including the Army's THAAD anti-missile system and the Navy's Aegis ships. This equipment provides Guam with a certain air defense and anti-missile capability. However, with the rapid improvement of the PLA's long-range strike capabilities, the U.S. military's defense of Guam has become less confident. The PLA has been equipped with a new generation of modern weapons such as medium- and long-range missiles, hypersonic attack missiles and stealth combat aircraft. These weapons give the PLA a greater firepower advantage, raising concerns among the U.S. military.
The U.S. military believes that the PLA has sufficient capabilities to fully cover the first island chain area. For example, the PLA's H-6K bombers carry cruise missiles and DF-26 medium-range ballistic missiles that are capable of hitting the first island chain. In particular, the PLA has begun to deploy cruise missiles and nuclear submarines, weapons with high concealment and broad strike range, enabling them to carry out long-range strikes, including the threat to Guam.
Against that background, the United States had decided to strengthen Guam's defence system. Plans include the deployment of more Aegis ships and THAAD to enhance Guam's air and missile defense capabilities. In addition, the U.S. military will enhance intelligence information collection and sharing to enhance the monitoring and early warning capabilities of the PLA's movements. A new anti-aircraft and anti-missile system is also under development to improve Guam's overall defenses.
However, U.S. defense plans in Guam face many challenges. First of all, it requires a lot of financial support. Although the Biden administration proposed $9 billion to Congress last year to upgrade Guam's defense capabilities, that number is still far from enough. The United States faces many economic challenges at home, and it is difficult to easily allocate large-scale funds to support the construction of Guam. Second, it takes a long time to implement. From weapons deliveries to infrastructure development, a long cycle is required. Under the current circumstances, it is difficult to complete the entire plan in a short period of time. In addition, the United States and Japan are escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait, and the risk of conflict is rising. Under these circumstances, it is almost impossible to fully build Guam's defense system.
Thirdly, the residents of Guam were adamantly opposed to the plan. There have been tensions between U.S. troops stationed in Guam and local residents. In addition, Japanese residents have always hoped to evacuate U.S. military bases stationed in Japan, so the Japanese government must consider public opinion while safeguarding U.S. interests. Pushing ahead with Guam's expansion plans against public opinion could lead to internal chaos.
Finally, there is an unsolvable issue with regard to the construction of Guam's defence system. According to the Pentagon, the construction of more U.S. military bases in Guam will make it easier to target Chinese PLA missiles, so the U.S. must strengthen Guam's defense capabilities, creating a vicious circle. Taken together, the U.S. defense plan for Guam faces many challenges in implementing it. Funding, time, public opinion and other issues need to be fully considered. In addition, the construction of Guam's defense system also clashed with the U.S. military's concept of distributed operations. As a result, there is still uncertainty about the future expansion of Guam.