The US naval and air bases on the western Pacific island of Guam are to receive a massive upgrade in the face of military advances and increased tensions in north-east Asia.
The naval base there will be upgraded to accommodate a nuclear powered aircraft carrier. The island itself will receive a missile defence system and live fire training sites, and additional basing infrastructure will be added at Andersen AFB to accommodate surges in aircraft deployments there. The island will also house 19,000 Marines who are being relocated from the Japanese island of Okinawa.
Locals are reportedly nervous about the affects the military build up will have on the island’s large tourism industry, while environmentalists have said more than 70 acres of coral reef will be destroyed as part of the harbour’s upgrades.
