Don’t Forget Guam

(Letters)

31 March 2016

Dear Workers Vanguard,

In “U.S. Out of Guantánamo!” [WV No. 1086, 25 March] there was a notable omission. When speaking of the 1898 conflict between the U.S. and Spain, the article listed the territories seized from Spain: Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, but neglected to mention Guam, which was also annexed by the U.S. and still remains a U.S. territory to this day.

CGs,
Jonah

WV replies: Good point. While a speck on the map of the Pacific, Guam plays an outsized role in U.S. imperialism’s military reach into East Asia. In 1951, General Douglas MacArthur pointed to the U.S. hold on a “chain of islands extending in an arc from the Aleutians to the Marianas,” from which the U.S. could “dominate with sea and air power every Asiatic port from Vladivostok to Singapore and prevent any hostile movement into the Pacific.” Guam is located in the southern half of what Chinese military spokesmen have dubbed the “Second Island Chain” (the “First Island Chain” includes Okinawa, the Philippines and Taiwan). Hosting several military installations, Guam is today at the core of the U.S. “pivot” aimed at the Chinese bureaucratically deformed workers state and also North Korea. This situation underscores the importance of China’s efforts to fight imperialist military encirclement, including by developing territory in the South China Sea.