China has been acting very provocatively in the Pacific lately. Just ask Japan how much. But, the United Sates is not taking this for granted.
The UK Telegraph reports that the US is building an £8 billion super military base on the Pacific island of Guam in an attempt to contain China's military build-up.
The expansion will include a dock for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, a missile defence system, live-fire training sites and the expansion of the island's airbase. It will be the largest investment in a military base in the western Pacific since the Second World War, and the biggest spend on naval infrastructure in decades.
However, Guam residents fear the build-up could hurt their ecosystem and tourism-dependent economy.
Estimates suggest that the island's population will rise by almost 50 per cent from its current 173,000 at the peak of construction. It will eventually house 19,000 Marines who will be relocated from the Japanese island of Okinawa, where the US force has become unpopular.
The US's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that this could trigger serious water shortages. The EPA said that dredging the harbour to allow an aircraft carrier to berth would damage 71 acres of pristine coral reefs.
More details here
Remember this DEMOCRAT congressman who thought the island of Guam can tip over and capsize? I love how the military guy keeps a straight face.
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