Navy Sends Ballistic Missile Submarine to Guam

The nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine USS Pennsylvania / AP

BY: Morgan Chalfant

November 1, 2016 3:42 pm

The U.S. Navy has sent a ballistic missile submarine to Guam as a show of America’s commitment to its allies in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

The USS Pennsylvania arrived in Apra Harbor, Guam, for a “scheduled port visit” on Monday, the Navy said in a statement, describing the visit as a complement to the “many exercises, training, operations, and other military cooperation activities conducted between the U.S. and its partner nations.”

The announcement comes amid high tensions in the region resulting from North Korea’s nuclear program. Pyongyang has recently conducted a handful of missile and nuclear tests and threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike if threatened by the United States.

China has also irked regional powers with its territorial claims in the East and South China Seas.

U.S. and Japanese forces are also holding amphibious landing drills off Guam and Tinian in the Northern Marianas this week, in annual exercises known as the Keen Sword, which began Sunday and will last until Nov. 11.

“We’re honored to work together with our Japanese Self Defense Force counterparts and learn from each other,” Rear Adm. Marc Dalton, commander of the Amphibious Force 7th Fleet, said Tuesday. “By improving our bilateral amphibious capability, we increase interoperability and readiness as part of our deep and long-standing military cooperation in support of the U.S.-Japan defense alliance.”

According to CNN, Japanese and South Korean officials will be able to tour the USS Pennsylvania during its visit to Guam.

“The U.S. routinely and visibly demonstrates commitment to allies and partners through forward presence and operations of strategic forces,” the Navy said Monday. “This specific visit to Guam reflects the United States’ commitment to its allies in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, and complements the many exercises, training, operations, and other military cooperation activities conducted between the U.S. and its partner nations.”

“To deter a broad range of threats, the U.S. requires a robust triad of strategic forces and forward deployed non-strategic nuclear forces,” the Navy said. “Ballistic missile submarines, such as USS Pennsylvania, are on patrol continuously, provide a critical, stabilizing, and highly effective element of the U.S. nuclear deterrence force.”

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