A United States Air Force (USAF) B-1B Lancer bomber has arrived in Guam "to support routine missions," the US Pacific Command wrote on X.
The island of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean is an unincorporated organized territory of the US.
The B-1B arrival comes after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov expressed concern that Washington’s decision to deploy intermediate-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region "within the framework of the concept of dual deterrence is irreversible."
Moscow would like to see no further build-up of the capabilities that the United States has persistently built in recent years in an area that was previously regulated by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, according to Ryabkov.
The statement followed a US Army Pacific spokesperson telling Sputnik that the Biden administration is on track to deploy a medium-range missile system in the Asia-Pacific by the end of this year.
This was preceded by the US Pacific Air Forces announcing that USAF B-52 long-range nuclear-capable bombers deployed from North Dakota landed in Guam at the end of January in an alleged mission to support "strategic deterrence" in the Indo-Pacific region.
In 2023, US Indo-Pacific Land Forces Commander General Charles Flynn announced US plans to deploy medium-range missiles in the Asia-Pacific region to potentially deter China over Taiwan.