Guam

Main article: United States

2023: US creates new missile defense on the island to confront China

In May 2023, during a Senate hearing, the head of the US Missile Defense Agency, John Heel , said that the Pentagon is implementing measures to equip the island of Guam with a missile defense system that can hit targets in the 360 ​ ​ degree full view zone.

According to him, this is necessary to protect the island from regional threats in the person of China and North Korea. The two countries have so-called "Guam killers" in service - the Chinese DF-26 with a radius of 4,000 kilometers and the North Korean Hwasong-14 with a radius of 4,500 kilometers, which at launch can hit military facilities on the island.

At this time, THAAD missile defense systems are located in Guam, which can withstand threats from the DPRK. According to the head of the Indo-Pacific Command of the US Armed Forces, equipping with new systems will effectively deter China.

The US government is making efforts to maintain influence over the island of Guam, since it is located near two strategically important points in the region at once - the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

In early August 2023, US officials discussed the deployment of an expanded integrated air defense and missile defense system (EIAMD) on Guam Island - it was about 20 new locations where the Americans plan to install Aegis, Patriot, THAAD and Typhon systems. According to representatives, Pentagon such an integrated mechanism will protect Guam from an arc of 360 degrees, since the components of the system will be located in different parts of the island.

The deployment of EIAMD [1] is publicly positioned as a countermeasure against the spread of Chinese influence in the region, as well as the increased military power of the country. Allegedly, in the event of an armed conflict, it is expected that the PRC army will primarily strike at the territory of Guam, where strategically important US military facilities are located.