Republican House Chairman Demands Action to Protect Guam from Chinese Aggression: Urgent Defense Upgrades Needed
Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher has requested information from the US Army about protecting Guam from increased Chinese military aggression. With Guam having strategic significance in defending American allies, Gallagher highlights the vulnerability of the territory to China's missiles and urges the Army to address defense gaps urgently.
House China Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, has requested information from the United States Army regarding the protection of Guam, an essential U.S. territory facing increased vulnerability amid escalating Chinese military aggression. In a letter addressed exclusively to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and obtained by Fox News Digital, Gallagher expressed concerns about the strategic significance of Guam and the growing threat it faces.
Guam is home to Naval Base Guam, the Navy's only submarine base in the western Pacific, and Anderson Air Force Base, a key airbase capable of hosting U.S. strategic bombers and fighters. Gallagher emphasized Guam's role in defending American allies and interests in the region, with over 20,000 U.S. troops stationed on the island. However, he highlighted the island's vulnerability to China's network of missiles, especially its cruise missiles. Gallagher warned that China's development of short and intermediate-range ballistic missiles and highly capable cruise missiles poses a significant threat to Guam, U.S. airfields in Japan, and U.S. aircraft carriers and warships in the western Pacific.
He noted that the United States has gaps in its capabilities to defend against Chinese cruise missiles targeting land-based assets like Guam, despite advancements in sea and land-based ballistic missile defense. Gallagher called attention to significant delays in the U.S. Army's ground-based missile defense system and requested information on the cause of the delays and alternative options to address the defense gap. He also inquired about the Army's plans to enhance land-based cruise missile defense capabilities in Guam and the potential integration of capabilities with allies Japan and Australia. Gallagher emphasized the urgency of addressing these issues to fortify Guam's defenses against evolving threats in the region.