As tensions continue to escalate in the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese Air Force released a video last Saturday (Sept. 19) showing nuclear-capable H-6 bombers bombing what appears to be the U.S. Anderson Air Force Base in Guam in a simulated attack.
Guam is home to important U.S. military installations, including Anderson Air Force Base, which is a key location for the U.S. response to any conflict in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Chinese Air Force posted the two-minute and 15-second video on its Air Force online microblog on Saturday (Sept. 19). It shows an H-6 bomber taking off from a desert base to the sound of solemn and dramatic music. On the way, a pilot presses a button to drop a missile on an unspecified air base. The missile lands on the runway, followed by images of ground shaking, explosions, and huge smoke billowing. At this point the music stops, and the drama is intense.
Reuters reported on Monday (Monday 21) that satellite imagery showed that the runway looked identical to the runway at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam.
The video, labeled “My name is Ares,” says in the main text, “We are the guardians of our country’s air and space safety, and we have the confidence and ability to defend our country’s air and space safety at all times.
Neither China’s Ministry of Defense nor the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command immediately responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
Collin Koh, a researcher at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore, told Reuters that the video was meant to highlight China’s growing sophistication in long-range projection.
Koh said, “This video is to warn the Americans that even places like Guam, which is thought to be at the back of the line and secure, can be threatened in the event of a conflict in a regional flashpoint like Taiwan or the South China Sea.”
The H-6 bomber in this video is notable because this Chinese military aircraft can carry missiles and has become China’s most powerful bomber for strategic deterrence.
The H-6 bomber has recently been seen over the South China Sea, the Western Pacific and the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s Air Force said that H-6 bombers were among the military planes that the Chinese Communist Party frequently disrupted flights over Taiwan last week.
Bloomberg News reported Monday that China is heightening the risk of military conflict in the Taiwan Strait as Beijing seeks to prevent Taiwan from continuing to deepen its ties with the United States and other like-minded democracies.
China has denounced increased U.S. support for Taiwan and has continued to show muscle and make threats by disrupting flights and frequent military exercises.
The most recent example was last week’s visit to Taiwan by U.S. Under Secretary of State Keith Krach, when the PLA’s Eastern Theater conducted combat exercises near the Taiwan Sea and flew up to nearly 20 military aircraft per day for two days, with multiple overflights of the centerline of the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan’s warplanes broadcasted their dispersal with the words “Turn around and disengage immediately, all consequences will be at your own peril!”. In response to such harsh words, the CCP pilot reportedly replied, “There is no strait centerline.
At the same time, the PLA has also stepped up military drills. The latest military drills begin on Monday (September 21) and will involve three days of live fire in the southern part of the Yellow Sea (off the coast of Lianyungang). According to statistics, the PLA has held at least 30 military exercises in the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas since late July this year, including live-fire drills with Taiwan as the hypothetical target.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said that this is a legitimate and necessary action to address the current situation in the Taiwan Strait and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. He added, “Recently, the United States and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have stepped up collusion and frequently stirred up trouble.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said Sunday that the spate of actions by Chinese military aircraft has made the people of Taiwan more aware of the nature of the Chinese regime, and other countries in the region more aware of the threat posed by China. She called on China to exercise self-restraint.
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