A new promotional video from the Chinese Air Force shows what appears to be a simulation of a bombing on the US Air Force base, located on the island of Guam, in the Pacific Ocean.
The video, published on September 19 on the official account of the Chinese Army on the Weibo social network, show the Chinese Xian H-6 strategic bombers in action. The video is called “The god of war H-6K goes on the attack!”, detailed Reuters.
The clip was shared simultaneously with the conduct of military exercises near Taiwan. The manoeuvres were carried out by China to express its disagreement with the visit of a senior Pentagon official to Taipei, according to the media.
A video clip issued by PLA Air Force on Saturday, stating the force is the safeguarder of China's territorial air/space safety. pic.twitter.com/fg4E6GFP0L
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) September 19, 2020
In the two-minute, 15-second video, it is possible to watch Chinese aircraft take off. Already in the air, a pilot presses a button and fires a missile on what appears to be an airstrip on an island. According to Reuters, the satellite image shown below has a design “exactly the same” as the Andersen base. The video then shows aerial views of a huge explosion.
“We are the defenders of the motherland’s aerial security; we have the confidence and ability to always defend the security of the motherland’s skies,” reads the brief description of the video.
Collin Koh, a researcher at the Singapore Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, said the goal of the video is to highlight China’s growing capabilities in long-range power projection.
“The video is meant to warn the Americans that even supposedly safe, rearward positions such as Guam may come under threat when conflicts over regional flashpoints, be it Taiwan or South China Sea, erupt,” he explained to Reuters.
So far, neither China’s Ministry of Defense nor U.S. Indo-Pacific Command has responded to requests for comment on the video.