The US military's rapid restoration of Tinian North Field, a former World War II B-29 bomber base abandoned since 1947, signals a significant shift in its Pacific defense strategy vis-à-vis China.

Recent satellite imagery confirms the extensive restoration of North Field on Tinian Island, located 193 kilometers northeast of Guam, The War Zone reported. Over 20 million square feet of runway and infrastructure have been rehabilitated at the airfield between December 2023 and January 2025, the report said.  

The US Air Force and Navy have spearheaded the project, integrating the site into the US Agile Combat Employment (ACE) strategy emphasizing dispersed, flexible basing to counter China's missile threats. Tinian North Field's grid-like design complicates enemy targeting, requiring significant resources to neutralize.

Concurrent expansion work at Tinian International Airport includes a sizeable new apron and fuel storage facilities to bolster operational capabilities. The overhaul aligns with America's broader Indo-Pacific strategy of supplementing Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and other Pacific airfields.

While US officials prioritize active air defenses over hardening infrastructure, China's growing missile threat underscores the urgency of flexible basing. The restoration also accommodates short-take-off aircraft like the F-35B, reinforcing US power projection in the region.

The US has undertaken similar restoration work at Peleliu, an island of Palau, and plans to do the same for Yap, an island of Micronesia. Once completed, the military infrastructure on Peleliu and Yap will complement those on Tinian and Guam to increase survivability against a Chinese attack and reinforce America's position in the Second Island Chain.

Why is the US strengthening its presence in the Pacific's Second Island Chain 80 years after World War II? Grant Georgulis argues in a 2022 article for the Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs that the First Island Chain, spanning Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, is not a survivable nor safe location for operations because it is within reach of China's long-range bombers, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.