Bombers at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam. (Photo/US Air Force)
The United States is enhancing its nuclear strike capability at Guam for a potential confrontation against China in the Far East, the Tokyo-based Sankei Shimbun reported on July 30.
General John M Paxton Jr, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, said at a Navy hearing that the US military forces in Japan are improving their capability to launch amphibious operations against the China coast should conflict break out in the East or South China seas. He said the US Marine Corps has a total of four amphibious assault ships and amphibious transport docks under its command at United States Fleet Activities Sasebo.
Paxton said that with the support of those vessels, the Seventh Fleet of the US Navy is capable of launching a strike against crucial targets on the China coast. Equipped with 36 aircraft including AV-8 Harrier fighters and AH-1W assault helicopters, the USS Essex amphibious assault ship was recently sent to the South China Sea for a joint exercise with the Philippine Navy. Sankei Shimbun said this is a move aimed against Chinese ambitions in the disputed region.
In addition to B-2 stealth bombers, the United States Air Force Global Strike Command is preparing to deploy more than 20 advanced B-52H strategic bombers to Anderson Air Force Base on Guam. Though President Barack Obama has declared that the United States does not want war with China, the bombers with nuclear strike capability are there to prevent the People's Liberation Army from taking the disputed Diaoyutai islands (Senkaku to Japan, Diaoyu to China) by force.
Liu Jiangping, a Chinese military expert, told China's Global Times that the Sankei Shimbun report should be seen as a strong warning to Beijing. Liu said it is time for the PLA to strengthen the defense of its military facilities in eastern and southern China. However, he also claimed that Japan is the only nation in the world which would want to see a war between China and the United States and that the leadership in Beijing should not set too much stock by the report.
