China ‘no-limits’ vow with Russia raises Pentagon urgency to prepare for Guam attack: US commander
- ‘Extremely dangerous’ if Beijing and Moscow were to make good on recent doubling down of partnership, says US Indo-Pacific Commander John Aquilino
- Admiral calls China’s advances in terms of naval ships, missile technology and nuclear capabilities ‘the largest military build-up’ since the second world war
“The most concerning aspect of [Russia’s war in Ukraine] is that the People’s Republic of China has declared a no-limits policy in support of Russia and what that means to both the Indo-Pacific and the globe,” US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John C Aquilino said.
“If those two nations were to truly demonstrate and deliver a no-limits policy, I think what that means is we’re currently in an extremely dangerous time and place in the history of humanity, if that were to come true,” he said in a discussion hosted by Foundation for Defence of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank.
Aquilino called China’s advances in terms of naval ships, missile technology and nuclear capabilities “the largest military build-up” since the second world war. He said this raises the risk that Beijing’s forces could attack Guam, an American territory in Micronesia.
“Guam has a 360-degree threat, so our ability to defend it and to be able to operate from there is absolutely critical,” he said. “I won’t have any timeline so I could see a continuous improvement and a continuous threat, and what that leads me to to do is to move with a sense of urgency.
Beijing’s stance on Russia has become one of the key issues that the two sides have sparred over in recent high-level meetings.