China Could Attack U.S. Pacific Bases in 'Minutes'

A military expert asserted that a ballistic strike on the U.S.' Pacific facilities could be conducted by Beijing within minutes. China's missile testing facilities have already been equipped with mock U.S. and Japanese targets.

In his latest report on the blog, "War on the Rocks," former Navy Cmdr. Thomas Shugart presented an in-depth view of China's military infrastructure in the Gobi Desert. The analysis offered side-by-side comparisons of Chinese military bases and U.S. facilities in Japan, showing striking similarities and revealing just how quickly Beijing could strike U.S. and Japanese assets if a conflict broke out. The region is already plagued with heightened tensions between nations, Washington-based military newspaper Stars and Stripes reported Tuesday.

“The time available between the first detection of a missile launch by U.S. space-based missile warning sensors to its impact would probably be on the order of 10 to 15 minutes,” Shugart wrote in his report. "In that short amount of time, U.S. early warning centers would have to detect the launched strike, assess it, and warn U.S. forces overseas."

Read the full article at Newsweek.