The top U.S. commander in the Indo-Pacific pointed to a Chinese Air Force propaganda video Tuesday when making his case to senators why there is an urgent need to build a missile-defense system in Guam.
“Guam is a target today. It needs to be defended,” Adm. Phil Davidson said when asked to explain why he claims to need $1.65 billion over five years to fund an Aegis Ashore radar and a missile-defense system on the American territory.
“And it’s been evidenced — by me, and displayed by the Chinese in a propaganda video of their own bomber forces attacking Andersen Air Force Base on Guam,” he said. “It prevents a cheap shot.”
Davidson declined to discuss in an unclassified setting how the island could be currently defended from Chinese ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles. China is also circumnavigating the island and just proved it can wage cyberwar on the United States with a recent attack of Microsoft Exchange email software.
The top U.S. commander in the region also called China “the greatest long-term strategic threat to security in the 21st century.”