On March 27, U.S. Defense Secretary Hegseth reiterated the Trump administration’s commitment to defending the Pacific territory during his visit to Guam.
According to BenarNews, Hegseth arrived in Guam from Hawaii on Thursday. This is his first visit to Guam as US Secretary of Defense, aimed at consolidating long-standing alliances with Guam and other Pacific islands to counter challenges from China.
In addition to reiterating the U.S. commitment to defending Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Hegseth also stated that any attack on the islands would be considered an attack on the U.S. mainland. He stressed that any attack on Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands would be met with an "appropriate response."
Guam and its neighboring Northern Mariana Islands are playing an increasingly important role in supporting U.S. naval and air force operations in the power competition between China and the United States in the Pacific, especially in the event of a conflict over Taiwan or the South China Sea.
The two U.S. territories are also within the range of Chinese and North Korean ballistic missiles. To this end, the United States tested a defense system in Guam in December 2024.
“We are defending our homeland,” Hegseth said during his visit to Guam. “Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are an important part of the United States. I want to make it very clear — to everyone in this room and to the viewers on camera — that any attack on these islands is an attack on the United States.”
"We will continue to have a military presence here," Hegseth said. "It's important to emphasize: We don't want war with communist China, but our responsibility is to make sure we are fully prepared."
The Trump administration signals its commitment to Pacific allies
Hegseth's week-long visit comes amid an increasingly assertive Chinese stance in the Pacific. Chinese Coast Guard vessels have repeatedly harassed the Philippines' exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea and conducted operations around the Japanese-controlled Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Hegseth's trip has attracted close attention from governments in the Pacific region, who are watching to see whether the Trump administration's commitment to its traditional allies in the Asia-Pacific region remains unchanged.
The trip came amid rifts between Washington and Europe, testing the decades-old transatlantic alliance. Hegseth's trip was also overshadowed by an incident in which he mistakenly added a journalist to a group discussion on the messaging app Signal about planned attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Guam, closer to Beijing than Hawaii, is at the forefront of safeguarding U.S. national security. With 10,000 military personnel stationed on the island, it serves as a base for F-35 fighter jets and B-2 bombers, as well as a home port for Virginia-class attack submarines.
Hegseth's reaffirmation of the Trump administration's security commitment comes amid a growing debate over Guam's future as a U.S. territory. Some local residents are advocating for statehood and for the completion of a UN-mandated decolonization process led by the indigenous Chamorro people.
Guam is an unincorporated territory of the United States. Although islanders are U.S. citizens, they cannot vote for the president of the United States, and their sole representative in Congress does not have a vote.
Guam Governor: Health security is a prerequisite for national security
Hegseth said defending Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is in line with Trump's goal of "peace through strength and putting America first."
Guam Governor Guerrero pointed out to Hegseth that the U.S. military buildup in Guam will have a "huge impact" on the island's residents.
The U.S. Department of Defense controls about a quarter of Guam and is preparing to spend billions of dollars upgrading the island's military infrastructure as another 5,000 U.S. Marines are relocated from Japan's Okinawa Islands.
“We welcome you, we welcome the stance and the gesture of President Trump,” Guerrero said in his opening remarks before the closed-door meeting with Hegseth.
"We belong to the defense of the second island chain," she said. "We want to be a partner in U.S. war preparedness. But national security cannot be achieved without human health security."
Guerrero hopes the US government will provide funding for the construction of a new hospital, estimated at around $600 million. “We need a regional hospital that can handle large numbers of casualties, whether from conflict or natural disasters,” she said.
Afterward, Guerrero told reporters she didn't have time to discuss the housing crisis caused by the U.S. military buildup.
On March 12, Guerrero warned lawmakers in his State of the Island address that the United States was neglecting Guam's 160,000 residents, about one-fifth of whom lived below the poverty line.
“Guam cannot be linchpin of U.S. security in the Asia-Pacific region if housing assistance is cut, leaving nearly 14,000 of our residents homeless, or if 36,000 of our people are unable to live healthy lives and escape poverty because they lose Medicaid and Medicare,” Guerrero said.
Hegseth concluded his visit to Guam by announcing he would reach an "understanding" with Federated States of Micronesia President Wesley Simina to plan and build $400 million worth of military infrastructure in Yap state.
Simena’s office did not confirm to BenarNews that Simena met with Hegseth in Guam, saying only that he was “not on the island.”
