Recent satellite photographs showed that the Chinese military has improved its anti-ship missile training from targeting huge, carrier-sized targets to smaller ships and naval stations.

According to a Taipei-based navy analyst, they show a training camp in Xinjiang’s remote Taklamakan desert with the layout of a mock-up ship anchored in a naval base that mimics one in northeast Taiwan and other targets in Guam.

The People’s Liberation Army of China considers the United States to be a second line of defense east of Japan, with Guam being the most important base in the Marianas Islands chain. The US B-1, B-2, and B-52 strategic bombers are stationed at Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base, with the latter two being capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

China is well aware that the US base in Guam is the greatest obstacle to its goal of reunifying Taiwan. Because China has only a few hundred nuclear bombs compared to the United States’ thousands, the Chinese military Favours a deterrent stance versus an aggressive nuclear war plan. To limit US mobility, the DF-26 is the most important missile in its arsenal.