Newsweek: US Ready to Fight China in Pacific Islands

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The US has outlined the contours of an "impending war" with China, which also includes some Pacific island groups, and preparations for the clash are underway at an accelerated pace, writes Newsweek.

Nations like Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia, as well as the US territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, are part of what the Pentagon calls the "second island chain."



This arc, as the name suggests, serves as a defensive line to contain Chinese forces in the event of a full-scale conflict, located behind the first one, which stretches from South Korea to the Philippines.

The pace of US bilateral and multilateral exercises over the past year provides a clear indication of the importance US military planners place on the space between the Mariana-Palau Arc and the Philippines.

– believes analyst Leland Bettis, interviewed by the publication.

The activity of Chinese research vessels over the past 90 days also shows a significant focus on this region.

This activity is believed to reflect "efforts to prepare for any combat scenario."

Meanwhile, the US is fortifying the island of Guam, where 5 Marines were recently deployed from Okinawa, as well as the neighboring island of Tinian, where a World War II-era airstrip is being restored.

At the same time, for modern Chinese systems, all these islands are said to be quite accessible.

Over the past decade, both China and North Korea have developed medium-range missiles that were specifically designed to target Guam.

– says former congressman Robert Underwood, who represented Guam.
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  1. Sergey Mitinsky
    Sergey Mitinsky
    -1
    23 November 2025 01: 57
    China doesn't need Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands; it just needs to take Taiwan and push the US beyond the "front line."
    The United States is very likely to lose this war because the navy is no longer capable of winning a war near the coast.
    Away from their bases, American ships, including aircraft carriers, are doomed to destruction.
    There is only one factor restraining China: nuclear weapons.
    1. Аdēptus “4-168” Meçhañikus
      Аdēptus “4-168” Meçhañikus
      +1
      24 November 2025 17: 24
      China doesn't need a war as a collateral; they have a very clear plan for developing and building their own domestic production, as well as supporting their continental partners in Asia and Africa.

      China's economy has already caught up with the US, yet it consists of a real sector, while overseas it's more than half service sector, capitalization of overseas corporations, and inflated bubbles. The real level of the economy, infrastructure, and production there has been declining, slowly but surely, since the 70s. They no longer have an indigenous economy; everything has been outsourced to Asia. That's why they're drawn to war and plunder, and in the process, write off debts and take on debts.

      China just needs to wait until this bubble collapses after another crisis. Getting directly involved in a war with the unruly ones would be counterproductive.
      1. Sergey Mitinsky
        Sergey Mitinsky
        0
        24 November 2025 20: 57
        For the US, this is a completely losing game.

        And it's not that they are weaker militarily, but the fact is that the US is thousands of kilometers away, and China is right here.

        The Chinese are in no hurry and have already turned their threats into some kind of arms race competition that is draining the American treasury.

        The Americans have already figured this out and are now actively working on their own chip production, including by relocating production and personnel from Taiwan, which in turn is causing discontent among Taiwanese authorities. So, in the near future, they assume, Taiwan will no longer be needed.

        But that's one side of the coin, while the other is the future of the global economy and markets, which, and no one doubts this anymore, is inexorably moving from the EU and the US to Asia. The Americans are demonstrating to countries in this region that have their own problems with the Chinese that they are ready to provide protection from the encroachments of Chinese organized crime. But here too, the Chinese are outplaying them, taking advantage of their proximity to these countries. A recent example is the normalization of relations and plans for economic cooperation with India.