TEMPO.CO, Hagatna - Guam, a small island in the Pacific, became the talk of the world after North Korea threatened to attack the United States Colony in the middle of this month.
As reported by NPR on Thursday, August 10, 2017, Guam, a small island in the western Pacific, which is 6,300 km from Hawaii and 3,500 km from the southeast coast of North Korea, is a US colony since 1898 after the handover from Spain.
The island that was once inhabited by ancient Indonesian and Filipino people in 2000 BCE is indeed small, but guarded and protected by the world's most powerful war machine.
Therefore, the strategic position of Guam became the mainstay of the US military that requires a gateway to East Asia.
In World War II, the United States often launched air strikes against Japan from its base in Guam.
Every air surveillance mission is also deployed from there. No wonder the US military pinned the spearhead’s epithet on the small island.
In addition to Apra Harbor, the US military also has the Andersen Air Force Base airfield, which among others accommodates the bomber squadron with B-52 Stratofortress or B-1B Lancer.
Since 2010, the US has also deployed several Ryo-4B Global Hawks reconnaissance aircraft. Andersen Airbase is also often used to land a NASA space shuttle.
Moreover, the small island is also within the range of Hwasong-8 missile, which although estimated to be able to devour a distance of 6,000 km, only flew as far as 1,000 km in trials early last year.
However, the threat of a nuclear attack against Guam is now much more real than before.
To counter the North Korean threat, the US has since 2013 built the High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) air defense system in southern Guam.
Developed in the First Gulf War, THAAD was tasked with destroying missiles without warheads, but with collisions of kinetic energy. In addition to Guam, the US also intends to put THAAD on the border of South Korea to counter the North Korean attack.
DEUTSCHE WELLE | NPR | AP | BBC | SITA PLANASARI AQUADINI
