China Wants Guam

By Daniel Nardini

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - CommentaryI have been hearing it from many people where I live who wonder why the United States is helping Ukraine fight against the Russians and why the U.S. military has been stepping up its support of Taiwan. I have heard the same refrain when people say, “why are we spending billions to help Ukraine when we have so many needy people here who need our help now?” I understand their argument very well, and in many ways agree with them. Why spend so much on helping other people across the globe when so many of our own people do not always have enough? There is merit in this argument. There are too many cases when this country does not have enough money to help people who are in dire poverty, do not have enough food to eat, cannot find affordable housing, and wonder if they will have a job or not tomorrow. These are all legitimate concerns, especially if the economy starts to slow down and decline (which it is being predicted it just might do in the next several months or year).

Sadly, we now have to think about the existential threats to our very sovereignty coming from Russia and yes China. Russia has made it clear that they want to take Alaska. Even though the Russian military has been doing a farcical joke (not to mention committing brutal atrocities) in their war against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, the Russian military is still enough of a threat that they could try to start a war against other countries in Europe or actually attack the American state of Alaska. Just as easily a threat is China wanting to take Taiwan. If they try an invasion of Taiwan, and if they somehow manage to seize it, I guarantee the Chinese military will cast their eyes on the U.S. territory of Guam. If you look at a map, Guam is 1,711 miles away from Taiwan, and makes up the second island chain in the Pacific. Guam is just three hours away by airplane from Taiwan, and many Taiwanese have gone to Guam for vacation. Guam is a natural vacation spot for many people from Asia wanting to see something of the United States close to where they live.

Guam is also home to a sizable U.S. military presence that can be utilized to fight against China should the need arise. Hence, Guam is an important place because of its location, because it has a large U.S. military presence, and most important because it is a part of the United States. Part of China’s military doctrine in case there is a war to take Taiwan is to bomb Guam. It will not be just be about bombing Guam, but also taking Guam and using it as a Chinese base to further attack America. This is exactly what the Japanese empire did in World War II, and what no doubt in my mind the new Chinese empire will do if given a chance. So, sadly, we need to spend money on our defense to make sure that these two rogue totalitarian dictatorships (China and Russia) do not make war on their neighbors and in the end attack America itself which they will do. It may all sound far-fetched and even ludicrous. However, if I had said eight months ago that Russia would make war on Ukraine, would anyone have believed me, including the Ukrainians? If I had said that China would be creating a huge naval fleet to take Taiwan and make war on its neighbors (including trying to seize Japanese islands), would anyone think that I have credibility? Both China and Russia for all-due purposes have declared war against the United States and its allies, and this is an existential threat to our very way of life. Defense of our country is no less important than helping our fellow Americans here at home.

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