By Air, Land & Sea: China Seeks to Checkmate Guam and Japan

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A Pentagon report on China’s military capabilities says Japan and Guam might be far more vulnerable to Chinese attack than may have been fully realized.

The recently published Pentagon report, called “Report on Military and Security Developments involving the People’s Republic of China,” says People’s Liberation Army Medium Range Ballistic Missiles and Land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM) are well within range of being able to strike U.S. bases in Japan as well as key areas within the U.S. territory of Guam.

Land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM)

As a LACM possibility, the Pentagon report was clear to cite the well-known, land-launched DF-26 anti-ship missile. 

At the same time, risk of attack against Guam or Japan not only comes from land, according to the report, but could also be fired from the ocean, a scenario which further compounds vulnerability given the wide range of angles, ranges and geographical locations a surface ship might be able to fire from.

“LACMs will also likely be deployable on surface platforms like the Renhai class guided-missile cruisers,” the report says.

The risk to Japan and Guam also comes from the air, as China’s H-6K bomber patrols in the Western Pacific clearly operate with an ability to place Guam at risk. Further compounding the risk, Chinese sensors and targeting systems are increasingly empowered by over-the-horizon surveillance assets and information sharing technologies, the report says.