Chinese Missiles Pose Increasing Threat to Guam

China is expanding its ability to strike at Guam with a wider range of conventional weapons that could potentially endanger American interests in the area, according to a just-released government study, Foreign Policy reports.

Although the immediate threat to Guam is considered low, the report, released by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, states that Beijing's "commitment to continuing to modernize its strike capabilities indicates the risk will likely grow going forward."

Of particular concern is the DF-26 intermediate-range missile, the first of its kind in China's possession that can reach Guam, a strategic Pacific island on which the U.S. has some 5,000 soldiers and considerable forces such as four nuclear powered submarines.

China's apparent intentions are to have the capability to deter U.S. responses to Beijing's territorial claims in the region. Just this week the U.S. Navy deliberately sailed close to one of the disputed islands in the South China Sea that Beijing occupies in order to defend freedom of navigation in the area in which a massive amount of trade passes annually between the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Military affairs analyst Rick Fisher told The Washington Free Beacon that the report should be a warning to U.S. officials to take Chinese threats more seriously. 

"For decades scores of U.S. officials have been telling Americans that a strong China is good for America and the world," Fisher said. "The China Commission's report blasts this delusion; a strong China is building a growing threat to the security of America and to all democracies. China is spoiling for a war in the South China Sea and if its wins, or forces the U.S. to leave Southeast Asia, it will set its sights on Guam."

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