The United States is planning to soon deploy a permanent fleet of nuclear submarines in Guam, a significant upgrade to its strategic military position in the Second Island Chain, with its deterrent power undoubtedly projecting onto the First Island Chain.
At the same time, with the recent strengthening of military alliances between the United States, Japan, and the Philippines, the US military’s presence and crisis response capabilities in the First Island Chain will also be upgraded and strengthened. These signs indicate that the US is strategically deploying step by step to the First Island Chain, aiming to contain and block the maritime and aerial activities of Communist China in case of it initiating conflict in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
According to information obtained by the Newsweek, the Virginia-class USS Minnesota nuclear-powered attack submarine equipped with conventional cruise missiles is planned to change its homeport from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii to Guam starting from October 1 in the new fiscal year.
Lt. Cmdr. Rick Moore, spokesperson for the Chief Advisor on Submarine Affairs of the US Pacific Fleet, told Newsweek that this will be the first submarine of its class to permanently operate outside the waters of Guam, adding “a next-generation attack submarine with advanced capabilities to the forward-deployed naval force.”
This decision comes at a time when the Chinese Navy is rapidly expanding and enhancing its operations in distant seas. Lt. Cmdr. Moore stated, “The Navy routinely evaluates the overseas deployment of its naval forces, including front-line naval submarines deployed in Guam. We are committed to demonstrating our most capable platforms to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”
US military leaders have pointed out that China is undergoing its largest scale of conventional military development since World War II, with its forces regularly operating beyond the First Island Chain, with recent deployments even far beyond the Second Island Chain. On July 8, Chinese naval forces accompanied by a Russian flotilla and joint bomber patrol arrived in the Bering Sea near Alaska.
Guam, located at the westernmost edge of the United States, serves as a crucial military hub in the Second Island Chain. The Second Island Chain, centered on Guam, extends north to central Japan and south all the way to Papua New Guinea north of Australia. The Second Island Chain and the First Island Chain—spanning from southern Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, to Singapore—were defense concepts developed during the Cold War to restrict Communist China’s maritime and aerial activities during times of conflict.
Guam is situated 1,500-1,700 miles (approximately 2,400-2,700 kilometers) away from the Taiwan Strait, East China Sea, and the disputed waters of the South China Sea, while the distance from Pearl Harbor to these areas is more than twice that of Guam, making Guam an ideal staging point for projecting US naval power to the First Island Chain.
Although within the missile range of the Chinese military, Bryan Herrin, a former submariner in the US Navy, told Newsweek that in a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region, US attack submarines can rapidly launch missiles and torpedoes.
Herrin mentioned, “The strategic location of Guam holds significant military importance for the US Navy, therefore being able to deploy, maintain, and reload our most modern submarines at that forefront is crucial.”
The USS Minnesota nuclear submarine weighs 7,800 tons, is 377 feet (115 meters) long, and is equipped with Mark 48 torpedoes, capable of launching up to 12 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles from its vertical launch system.
The US Navy stated that the Virginia-class nuclear submarines, in service since the early 2000s, have enhanced their operational capabilities, including littoral operations to support anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, strike warfare, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.
On July 28, the US announced a landmark plan to transform its US Forces Japan (USFJ) into a joint forces command, with the new joint forces command to be led by a three-star general equivalent to Japan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
According to reports from the US Department of Defense, following the July 28 talks, the defense minister Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed the bolstering of US-Japan relations with President Biden agreeing to fully support Japan in case of any conflict with China. Later, they declared a move to manufacture weaponry together, share security intelligence, and expand their positioning on the Japanese Southwest Islands near Taiwan.
The upgrade plan had been discussed before when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited Washington in April reaching an agreement to strengthen US-Japan security relations with an understanding to establish new command structures for the Japanese military.
Japan is expected to double its defense spending by 2027, acquiring missiles capable of penetrating enemy territories and providing more freedom to its long-constrained Self-Defense Forces under the Peace Constitution. All of these are part of the vision left by the late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to reassert Japan on the world stage.
As Japan makes these adjustments, the old modes of cooperation between the US and Japan’s armed forces also become outdated. Thus, the US requires a new command structure to coordinate larger-scale military operations with Japan.
A senior US defense official said prior to his visit to Japan, “We are cooperating in ways that many experts did not anticipate 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago.”
However, some in Japan were disappointed that the US only upgraded the US-Japan military command to a three-star general.
In the press conference following the “2+2” meeting that day, Defense Minister Austin stated that Washington does not “rule out” the possibility of providing a four-star position for the US-Japan military commander.
The US Department of Defense reported that during speeches by senior US and Japanese diplomatic and defense officials, emotions were mixed between optimism and concern. While they reiterated the strength of US-Japan relations, they also expressed increasing threats from Communist China, Russia, and North Korea.
At the end of the meeting, the US and Japan also discussed “extended deterrence”—a commitment that the US will protect Japan in the event of an attack, including the use of nuclear weapons. This topic was raised for the first time at a US-Japan “2+2” meeting, with both sides expressing concerns over China’s and North Korea’s nuclear developments.
Secretary of State Blinken and Defense Minister Austin held the fourth US-Philippines “2+2” high-level talks with their Philippine counterparts on July 30. They emphasized forging a strong US-Philippine relationship and reiterated the Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries.
Blinken and Austin announced cooperation with the US Congress for the allocation of $500 million in foreign military funding to the Philippines as part of the 2024 Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, aimed at enhancing the modernization of the US-Philippine alliance, strengthening the capabilities of the Philippine military and coast guard. Additionally, they announced funding of $125 million for infrastructure development at seven locations in the Philippines in next year’s budget request under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
Following the talks on July 30, at a press conference hosted by the US Department of Defense, Austin stated that the two countries reiterated their commitment to the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty and emphasized “the importance of closer cooperation with like-minded allies and partners such as Australia and Japan.”
Austin said, “This is part of what I describe as the new fusion in the Indo-Pacific, we can see new fusion here. The US, the Philippines and our other allies and partners are working more closely and capably than ever before, we are collectively striving to ensure a free and open region.”
Blinken and Austin concluded their visits to several countries in the Indo-Pacific region on July 31. Upon their return to the US this week, they are scheduled to host the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense Richard Marles, and Foreign Minister Penny Wong for this year’s US-Australia “2+2” ministerial meeting.
This series of events marks the strengthening of US strategic deployments in the First Island Chain and Second Island Chain.
Blinken noted, the US military construction investments in the Indo-Pacific region almost doubled in the last fiscal year, continuing to significantly improve the US military posture in the Indo-Pacific region.
Austin said, “Our relationship with Australia is stronger than ever before. We have also improved relations with countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, and Papua New Guinea.”