Guam governor visits Taiwan, US territory would play key role in conflict scenario

Guam Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero

Taiwan this week is hosting the governor of Guam, the U.S. Pacific territory that would almost certainly be a key player in any Chinese military moves against Taiwan.

Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero is making her first trip to the self-governing island democracy since taking office in 2019. In that time China has significantly boosted its threat to invade Taiwan with new ships, missiles and warplanes. Military planners usually include Guam in their war gaming due to the large amount of U.S. troops and hardware it hosts.

Though Taiwan and the U.S. have no military treaties or even diplomatic ties, Washington is expected to respond to any Chinese attack and use Guam as a staging point for many of those operations. The island hosts about 9,700 members of all main branches of the U.S. military.

Guam is located east of the Philippines, about 4,750 kilometers from the Chinese mainland, putting it within range of Chinese ballistic missiles, including those fired from submarines. Previous crises involving China and the U.S. over Taiwan have sparked minor panics on Guam, with many people wondering whether the island would become a target for Chinese missiles.

Guam has been an important military outpost since World War II, dominated by Andersen Air Force Base and its many outlying installations. There also is a robust naval and marine presence with about 30% of the territory’s land occupied by U.S. military installations.

Guerrero arrived in Taiwan on Sunday and is due to stay through Saturday. She is scheduled to meet with Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te and minister Lin Chia-lung, visit the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and meet with several local mayors, official sources said.

Tourism, health care and fisheries also will be on her agenda.

Residents of Guam are U.S. citizens, although they are not allowed to vote in presidential elections. Taiwan has worked hard of late to reinforce its relations with South Pacific Territories against inroads from China. MDT/AP