US Navy Deploys First Fast-Attack Submarine to Guam

The U.S. Navy has deployed one of its most advanced attack submarines to Guam, enhancing U.S. presence in the Indo–Pacific amid escalating tensions with communist China.
“This posture allows flexibility for maritime and joint force operations, with forward-deployed units ready to rapidly respond to deter aggression and promote a peaceful and prosperous Indo–Pacific region,” the release reads.
The USS Minnesota was commissioned in 2013 and was the 10th Virginia-class submarine for service, according to the Navy.
The USS Minnesota “will enhance our operational capabilities and further strengthen deterrence efforts throughout the Indo-Pacific,” Steinhagen added.
Beaver explained that Virginia-class submarines “are still a generation ahead” of Chinese submarines in areas such as propulsion, weapon systems, and noise-reduction technology.
Guam is located about 3,800 miles from Hawaii and 1,700 miles from Taiwan, a self-ruled island that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is aiming to take over.
Guam is also part of the second island chain, which extends from Japan to Micronesia. Taiwan sits at the heart of the first island chain that stretches from the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, the Philippines, to the Malay Peninsula.
For decades, military strategists have viewed the first island chain as a barrier preventing the Chinese regime from projecting its air and naval power to the second island chain and beyond.
“Many believe that this operation was intended to probe for weaknesses that could be exploited to deny the United States the ability to operate from the island during a conflict,” according to the CFR article.