China Reviving World War II Airfield in America's Backyard

[william]

A groundbreaking ceremony held on a remote Pacific island marked the start of a project—spearheaded by a Chinese state-owned company—to revive a World War II-era airfield.

The project, launched on the atoll of Woleai in the Federated States of Micronesia, is approximately 400 miles south of Guam, a U.S. territory and military hub considered key to Washington's ability to project power in the Asia-Pacific.

The Second Island Chain, a string of islands Washington has long viewed as strategically important to containing a rising China in the event of a wartime scenario. Western analysts have raised concerns Chinese-controlled infrastructure could blunt U.S. military power in the Pacific, given Beijing's policy of military-civil fusion that enables the People's Liberation Army to co-opt dual-use facilities.

Domingo I-Kwei Yang, assistant research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, wrote in a recent report: "China aims to establish a Southern Link, connecting Asia and South America via Pacific strategic infrastructure hubs. Control over Pacific ports, airstrips, and ICT systems could serve dual-use purposes, enabling transit, logistics, and expanded influence in the U.S. backyard."

https://thediplomat.com/2025/04/pla-assertiveness-in-the-tasman-sea-is-a-wake-up-call-on-chinas-dual-use-infrastructure-in-the-pacific/

China reviving WWII airfield just 400 miles from US stronghold Guam

A Chinese state-owned company has begun rebuilding a World War II-era airfield on Woleai, a remote atoll roughly 400 miles south of Guam.

interestingengineering.com

Woleai Airport

habeleinstitute.org