{"id":430534,"date":"2025-09-17T06:25:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T06:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/430534\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T06:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T06:25:10","slug":"everyone-should-be-worried-life-in-the-crosshairs-of-chinas-guam-killer-missiles-guam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/430534\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Everyone should be worried\u2019: life in the crosshairs of China\u2019s \u2018Guam killer\u2019 missiles | Guam"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like most people living in Guam, Jacqueline Guzman is used to hearing about the threat from China<\/a>. The US territory of about 170,000 people lies in the Pacific Ocean and despite growing geopolitical tensions in the region, the cost of living rather than military aggression is front of mind for many residents.<\/p>\n

Guzman says she is worried \u201cabout paying bills\u201d and has trust in the US government to protect her.<\/p>\n

But that certainty shifted slightly this month when the threat catapulted into the headlines, as Beijing used a military parade<\/a> commemorating Japan\u2019s defeat in the second world war to unveil a range of new military hardware \u2013 including a weapon dubbed the \u201cGuam Killer\u201d by Chinese media.<\/p>\n

In addition, the image of China\u2019s president Xi Jinping surrounded by the leaders of Russia, North Korea, Iran<\/a> and more signalled for some a new and unexpected danger.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what I\u2019ve read, just about everyone in this region should be worried,\u201d says Frank Whitman, 71, who lives in Barrigada, right next to the headquarters of the Guam<\/a> national guard, a component of the US military.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there is nothing really not much we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

A military parade in Beijing, China, in 3 September 2025. Photograph: Xinhua\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Located about 3,000km east of China, Guam is a strategic hub for the US in the Pacific and hosts a large military contingent. Experts say that if China were to annex Taiwan \u2013 as its leader Xi has pledged \u2013 Guam would probably become a frontline in the conflict that could follow.<\/p>\n

For that reason, displays of China\u2019s increasing military prowess \u2013 this month\u2019s event included<\/a> nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles, anti-drone lasers and four-legged \u201crobot wolves\u201d \u2013 loom large in the territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuam is a key strategic location for the United States in the Western Pacific,\u201d says Michelle Tucker, public affairs officer for the Joint Task Force-Micronesia, a newly established command that overseas military operations in the western Pacific.<\/p>\n

She says the region is among the most \u2018\u201cconsequential\u201d for the US and that the military is \u201cready to defend our US homeland here on Guam\u201d.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, the US is developing an enhanced integrated air and missile defence, said to provide 360-degree protection around Guam. According to the record of decision recently released by the defence department, the $1.5bn project is expected to be completed in 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuam should be aware of the threat, even if not so worried,\u201d says Col Grant Newsham, a retired US marine officer, noting that the Chinese military has outpaced the US in some areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Chinese choose their timings and locations \u2026 they could really hurt US forces,\u201d says Newsham, a senior fellow at the Center for Security Policy and Japan Forum for Strategic Studies, and author of the 2023 book When China Attacks: A Warning to America.<\/p>\n

map of guam<\/a><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Newsham believes the US military remains powerful and more than a match for China\u2019s new military technology.<\/p>\n

As well as the missiles and underwater drones, Xi standing with the North Korean and Russian leaders at the military parade prompted new concern among some in Guam.<\/p>\n

Gina T Reilly, a communications specialist for a military contractor, says she used to not be worried by China \u2013 until the \u201cjoint public appearance by Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping\u201d. That, she says, signals \u201ccloser political ties and mutual support\u201d between the countries.<\/p>\n

Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un in Beijing earlier this month. Photograph: KCNA via KNS\/AP<\/p>\n

\u201cThat can alter regional and global diplomacy and make coordinated actions more likely. It\u2019s alarming because it can be a military and security allegiance,\u201d Reilly says.<\/p>\n

Local officials, however, continue to insist that defending Guam is of paramount importance to the US military.<\/p>\n

Guam senator Jesse Lujan, chair of the legislature\u2019s federal affairs committee, says the local government receives intelligence briefings from US military officials and the protection of the island is taken \u201cwith the utmost seriousness\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur role is to remain calm, informed and united, trusting that the proper channels are in place to ensure our security.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Like most people living in Guam, Jacqueline Guzman is used to hearing about the threat from China. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-430534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115218214202919839","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}