Esther Aguigui
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Guam Homeland Security/Office Civil Defense reported no immediate threat assessed from a reported missile launch Wednesday.
“No immediate threat was assessed for Guam or the Marianas from the reported launch,” Homeland Security Advisor Esther Aguigui stated in the press release.
“Events such as these will continue to be monitored by our office, while working with local, military, and federal partners,” she added.
The release came as China announced that it had successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean.
“The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force at 8:44 a.m. Beijing time (0044 GMT) on Wednesday and ‘fell into expected sea areas,’ the Chinese defense ministry said in a statement, adding that it was a ‘routine arrangement in our annual training plan’ and not directed at any country or target,” Reuters reported Wednesday.
A separate Xinhua News Agency report stated that China informed concerned countries in advance but did not clarify the path of the missile or where it fell.
But the GHS/OCD release makes no mention of China. The Guam Daily Post is seeking clarification on whether the press release was issued in response to the reported intercontinental ballistic missile launch and how close that missile got to Guam.
The Pacific Center of Island Security account on X, formerly Twitter, questioned whether the intercontinental ballistic missile passed over Guam, referring to tracking data posted on the social media site. PCIS Treasurer Leland Bettis said it appears that the missile flew over Guam and added that this was not a demonstration of new capability from China but signaled how that capability may be used.
“The fact that the first Chinese ICBM launched into the Pacific just happened to pass over Guam is not likely a coincidence,” he said.
