Concerns over America’s vulnerability in the Pacific are intensifying as Chinese military actions continue to escalate. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) recently warned that China’s ongoing air and sea patrols near Taiwan and Japan are more than routine drills — they may be practice runs for a future offensive.
Cotton said the People’s Liberation Army has normalized aggressive incursions into Taiwanese and Japanese territory, which not only strain allied defense resources but also risk desensitizing the world to future escalations. He pointed out that on one of these nearly daily entries, China might finally strike without warning.
Will Guam Be America’s Next Pearl Harbor?
Donald Trump’s neocolonial foreign policy could invite a surprise Chinese attack on an underprepared American island in the South Pacific.https://t.co/uMUsbwz0xL
— That is China (@That_isChina) March 24, 2025
The senator also pointed to China’s use of so-called “gray zone” tactics — strategies that fall short of open warfare but push the boundaries of military and diplomatic norms. These include cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns and coordinated coercion that serve Beijing’s broader ambitions without triggering a full-scale conflict.
Defense analysts warn that the Chinese military may be planning to hit not just forward positions like Taiwan or Guam, but even key locations on the U.S. mainland. Military experts have outlined scenarios in which Chinese submarines, merchant ships equipped with concealed missile launchers or swarms of drones could strike Pearl Harbor or bases on the West Coast.
The possibility of a sudden attack is not limited to high-tech missiles. Drones launched from offshore or planted domestically could disrupt airfields, damage ships or target U.S. personnel. Some of these drones, often inexpensive and hard to detect, have the potential to damage even the most fortified military infrastructure.
Cotton argued that the threat is not a distant or abstract one. He said Americans should be aware that Chinese military strategy is evolving and already impacting U.S. readiness. He also said that Republican leaders are preparing national security initiatives aimed at countering these threats more aggressively.
Military planners have reportedly begun reinforcing defenses along the Pacific front. Air and missile defense systems are being reviewed at bases in Hawaii, California and Washington as intelligence points to a growing risk of unconventional attacks.
Experts have compared the current situation to the buildup before the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack.
