Breaking news
US report on Chinese ability for conventional strikes on Guam released.
| 2016
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Naval
Forces News - USA, China |
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US
report on Chinese ability for conventional strikes on Guam released |
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By Stelios Kanavakis - Senior Defence Analyst The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission released on 10 May 2016 a report with the title “China’s Expanding Ability to Conduct Conventional Missile Strikes on Guam”. The report examines the reasons of why China develops conventional weapons that can strike Guam, while highlighting how that military capability is continually growing. |
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US Navy and Japanese Naval Maritime Self Defence Force surface
units in Guam (Photo: Naval Base Guam, Public Affairs / Communications Office) |
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The
US-China Economic and Security Review Commission was created by the
US Congress. Its mission is to report on the national security implications
of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the two countries. Guam has been playing a critical role in the US foreign policy, especially since the announcement of the Asia-Pacific pivot. It is a strategic base for the US naval and air assets in the water-dominated theatre of operations. Any risks against the base are risks against the US capability to deploy forces effectively. According to the report, China’s increasing capabilities can put the US forces stationed in Guam at risk, in a potential conflict. Nevertheless, this risk is relatively low due to accuracy limitations and platform vulnerabilities. However, China shows a great commitment in this effort, thus making the risk larger through the passage of time. The committee mentions that the Chinese missiles that are capable of reaching Guam are the: · DF-26 IRBM, which although not very accurate, it is a risk if used in large numbers, · DF-26 anti-ship ballistic missile, which although unproven is under development, · Air-launched Land and Ship-attack cruise missiles, with their aircrafts not being undetectable, · Sea-launched land-attack cruise missiles, which are not fielded yet, and · Sea-launched ship-attack cruise missiles, if the launching platforms succeed in coming in range. The analysts also mentioned that the US government must continually evaluate the Chinese capabilities in the fields of DF-26 deployments, precision-strike capabilities, bomber fleet, air-refueling and submarine quieting technology. The full report can be reached through the following link: China’s Expanding Ability to Conduct Conventional Missile Strikes on Guam |