Like most people living in Guam, Jacqueline Guzman is used to hearing about the threat from China. The US territory of about 170,000 people lies in the Pacific Ocean and despite growing geopolitical tensions in the region, the cost of living rather than military aggression is front of mind for many residents.
Guzman says she is worried “about paying bills” and has trust in the US government to protect her.
But that certainty shifted slightly this month when the threat catapulted into the headlines, as Beijing used a military parade commemorating Japan’s defeat in the second world war to unveil a range of new military hardware – including a weapon dubbed the “Guam Killer” by Chinese media.
In addition, the image of China’s president Xi Jinping surrounded by the leaders of Russia, North Korea, Iran and more signalled for some a new and unexpected danger.
“From what I’ve read, just about everyone in this region should be worried,” says Frank Whitman, 71, who lives in Barrigada, right next to the headquarters of the Guam national guard, a component of the US military.
“But there is nothing really not much we can do.”