Can the U.S. Defend its Bases in the Pacific Against Chinese Attacks?

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byKris Osborn– Warrior Maven

(Washington D.C.) Is the U.S. military and its assets in the Pacific theater already in jeopardy of rapid destruction by new Chinese weapons systems? Could forward operating U.S. bases in places like Guam, Japan, or the Philippines be hit and rendered ineffective quickly by incoming Chinese ballistic missiles?

One think tank essay by the United States Studies Center seems to think the answer is “yes,” due to insufficient funding, poor readiness and lagging U.S. modernization.

“Many US and allied operating bases in the Indo-Pacific are exposed to possible Chinese missile attack and lack hardened infrastructure. Forward deployed munitions and supplies are not set to wartime requirements and, concerningly, America’s logistics capability has steeply declined,” the essay, titled “Averting Crisis, American Strategy and Collective Defence in the Indo-Pacific,” states.

While the authors of the analysis may be correctly pointing out certain deficits, shortfalls or vulnerabilities regarding base defenses in the Pacific, the study seems to miss several pertinent modernization developments which continue to substantially change the equation regarding the U.S. ability to protect forward installations.

Having benefited from the recent Pacific “pivot,” there are now large amounts of forces and assets in the region, bringing unprecedented levels of military power to the region. Diego-Garcia based B-2s are now flying bomber patrols in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. Navy bases as much as 60 percent of its global fleet in the region and the Pentagon is now operating several multi-domain, Army-Air Force-Navy cross-functional training teams in the region as well. Often overlooked, the Army has a large presence as well in places such as Japan and Guam. What is lacking in land assets is often compensated for by F-35-armed Theater Security Packages flying and training in the area, multi-national training exercises, dual-carrier attack preparations and a growing sphere of ISR platforms now flying in the Pacific.