By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
The growing geopolitical tensions in the Pacific region represent a growing security threat to Guam itself. This reality is highlighted by China’s latest display of aggressive behavior when the People’s Liberation Army launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean last month. The warhead is believed to have passed over Guam.
It's a constant threat. China owns a 4,000-km missile known as the DF-26, nicknamed “Guam Killer,” specifically built for the island. Guam pins its hopes on the proposed integrated air and ground missile system with mobile components to be installed around the island to supplement the nuclear-powered submarines and other existing military resources at the U.S. Naval Base and Andersen Air Force Base.
Often referred to as "the tip of the military spear," Guam figures prominently in the U.S. government's Indo-Pacific Strategy. The island's strategic location makes it ideal for U.S. power projection.
The U.S. has built defense partnerships in the region, including Japan, which is now seeking a footprint on Guam. Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s next prime minister, is proposing a revision of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and Status of Forces Agreement to allow the Self-Defense Forces to be stationed in Guam to strengthen the deterrence capabilities of both countries.
“The current Japan-U.S. security treaty is structured so that the U.S. is obligated to defend Japan, and Japan is obligated to ‘provide bases’ to the U.S.,” Ishiba told the Hudson Institute. “The time is ripe to change this ‘asymmetrical bilateral treaty.’”
Striking a new status agreement for the “Security Defense Forces in Guam,” Ishiba said, “could be made the same as that for U.S. forces in Japan. Furthermore, expanding the scope of joint management of U.S. bases in Japan would also reduce the burden on U.S. forces in Japan.”
If it happens, Japan would be the second foreign presence on Guam. The U.S. Department of the Air Force is currently planning to bed down up to a dozen Singapore Air Force F-15 fighter jets, forming part of a 2019 agreement with the Asian ally to establish a permanent training detachment at Andersen Air Force Base.
While the Department of Defense has repeatedly assured Guam it is adequately protected, the Guam National Guard seeks active participation in confronting foreign threats. Brig. Gen. Michael Cruz, adjutant general of the GUNG, is advocating for the Guard’s increased role in the planning and potential
execution of the defense of Guam and the Marianas.
“While all National Guards are funded by Congress to attend drill weekend once a month and annual training two weeks a year, the stakes are too high for the native defenders of our homeland, especially here in the second island chain, not to be intimately involved,” said Mark Scott, spokesman for GUNG.
The Guam Guard’s role is currently limited. It engages in disaster response and other civil tasks on Guam and the Northern Marianas. The Guard sends a rotational force to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense site every year for security purposes, performing site security functions such as entry access control, perimeter security and base defense operations.
Designed to intercept targets outside and inside the atmosphere, THAAD is touted as a “highly effective, combat-proven” defense against short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats.
“We're also involved with defensive cyber operations. Our defensive cyber team is currently working with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and Cyber Command to begin integrating and improving our cyber capacity both inside and outside the fence,” Scott said. “This means we are working with GovGuam agencies and private sector stakeholders to begin collaborating and unifying cyber plans, procedures and best practices.”
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In terms of participating in Guam’s defense against any potential attacks, Cruz said the GUNG could offer more, noting that the local civilian community would bear the impact of any conflict. “History cannot show that we had the most to lose, but we did the least to prepare," he said.
“Members of the Guam Guard live here, and have roots spreading across the region from the Philippines, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands,” Scott said. “We have local government officials and private sector stakeholders in our ranks who can help bridge potential communication gaps between the DoD and local community. We have a vested interest in the defense of our region because our families live here.”
Scott said the DoD is receptive to the Guam Guard’s proposal, acknowledging that the GUNG is "indispensable."
“Talks underway are exploring opportunities for this increased role. Possibilities include reshaping parts of our force structure to meet homeland defense mission priorities, such as air and missile defense,” Scott said.
He said the DoD is seeking to acquire more funds to sustain a full-time cyber defense operations team and to develop and integrate local disaster response plans. There is also a discussion on the possibility of an airframe, such as a C-130, for the GUNG to improve its lift capability within the region.
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