Editing Geography of Guam (section)

== Strategic position ==
{{Further|History of Guam}}
Guam is about {{convert|1500|mile|km}} from both [[Tokyo]] in the north and [[Manila]] in the west, and about {{convert|3800|mile|km}} from [[Honolulu]] in the east.<ref name="Guampedia_Geography">{{cite web |last1=Karolle |first1=Bruce G. |title=Geography of Guam |url=https://www.guampedia.com/geography-of-guam/ |website=Guampedia |access-date=14 March 2021 |date=February 12, 2020 |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228220243/https://www.guampedia.com/geography-of-guam/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Guam's size and possession of a natural safe anchorage at [[Apra Harbor]], uniquely among its neighbors, have driven much of its history.<ref name="Guampedia_strategic"/>

Guam was a minor but integral part of the Spanish [[Manila galleon]] trade. Located on the east-to-west [[trade winds]], galleons from [[Mexico]] would briefly reprovision on Guam before continuing on to [[Manila]]. The [[westerlies]] are well away from Guam so it was not a stop on the return trip. During the height of Pacific [[whaling]], Apra Harbor was a major stop for whalers.<ref name="Guampedia_Sumay"/>

After the American [[capture of Guam]] in 1898, the [[Commercial Pacific Cable Company]] laid [[submarine communications cable]] for [[telegraph]] through [[Guam Cable Station]], linking the United States to Asia for the first time.<ref name="Guampedia_Sumay">{{cite web |last1=Babauta |first1=Leo |title=Sumay |url=https://www.guampedia.com/sumay-2/ |website=Guampedia |access-date=March 2, 2021 |date=October 14, 2019 |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303144457/https://www.guampedia.com/sumay-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Guam continues to be [[Communications in Guam#Submarine cables|a major submarine cable hub]] in the western Pacific. In 1935, [[Pan Am|Pan American Airways]] made [[Sumay, Guam]], a base for its ''[[China Clipper]]'', the first trans-Pacific air cargo service, flying from [[San Francisco]] to [[Manila]], arrived at Sumay on November 27, 1935, and the first passenger service flight on October 21, 1936.<ref name="Guampedia_Pan Am">{{cite web |last1=Clement |first1=Michael R. Jr. |title=First Pan American Flights |url=https://www.guampedia.com/first-pan-american-flights/ |website=Guampedia |access-date=March 5, 2021 |date=October 15, 2019 |archive-date=March 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304084228/https://www.guampedia.com/first-pan-american-flights/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Battle of Guam (1941)|Japanese capture of Guam]] in 1941 and subsequent [[Battle of Guam (1944)|American liberation]] in 1944 were driven by a recognition of Guam's strategic location in a Pacific War. Military facilities on Guam, including [[Naval Base Guam]] and [[Andersen Air Force Base]], are considered critical forward deployment bases in the Asia-Pacific. Guam was a support center for the [[Korean War]] (1949–1953) and became even more important during the [[Vietnam War]], when the bombing campaigns [[Operation Arc Light]] (1965–1973) and [[Operation Linebacker II]] (1972) were flown out of Andersen Air Force Base. Guam was similarly the site of [[Operation New Life]], the processing of [[Indochina refugee crisis|Vietnamese refugee]]s after the [[Fall of Saigon]] in 1975.<ref name="Guampedia_strategic"/>

Guam is a linchpin of the "Second Island Chain" in the [[Island Chain Strategy]] first described by the U.S. during the Korean War, but which has become an increasing focus of [[Foreign policy of China|Chinese foreign policy]]. In 2016, China deployed the [[DF-26]], their first [[intermediate-range ballistic missile]] with the range to hit Guam. Chinese media wonks and military experts dubbed it the "Guam Killer."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pappalardo |first1=Joe |title=China's "Guam Killer" Is Forcing B-2s To Practice Strikes From Pearl Harbor |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a23692731/b-2-pearl-harbor-guam-killer/ |website=Popular Mechanics |access-date=18 March 2021 |date=9 October 2018 |archive-date=17 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117073808/https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a23692731/b-2-pearl-harbor-guam-killer/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Andersen AFB with 150 B-52s 1972.jpg|About 150 [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress|B-52 bombers]] at [[Andersen Air Force Base]] during the [[Operation Linebacker II|1972 bombings of North Vietnam]].
File:Geographic Boundaries of the First and Second Island Chains.png|The first and [[second island chain]]s.
</gallery>