Deployed at Marine Corps Frontline... Operation of Advanced Weapons
Blocking China's Access at Strategic Points like the Taiwan Strait
The United States is reportedly reorganizing the combat methods of its Marine Corps. This is a strategic move in preparation for potential clashes with China in future conflict zones.
The US daily newspaper The Washington Post (WP) reported on the 29th (local time) that the US is advancing the traditionally amphibious Marine Corps to the front lines and is pursuing measures to prevent detection by radar and other electronic surveillance devices.
This plan, called ‘Force Design,’ envisions utilizing up to thousands of standby troops at once to enable larger joint forces to respond collectively with force against the enemy.
For example, the Marines could be deployed to conflict areas to gather intelligence and then transmit coordinates to Air Force B1 strategic bombers, allowing missiles to be launched at Chinese destroyers hundreds of kilometers away. Another option is sending target data to the US ally, the Philippines, which disputes territorial claims with China in the South China Sea.
Additionally, the Marines plan to operate advanced weapons through a new infantry unit called the Coastal Defense Team, capable of firing missiles at enemy vessels up to 185 km away. WP stated, “This aims to block enemy (China) access to key maritime points such as the Taiwan Strait and the Philippine Luzon Strait.”
Last April, the US tested the Marines’ new combat concept during the ‘Balikatan’ joint military exercises with the Philippines near the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, following a summit with Japan next month, the US is expected to issue a joint statement reaffirming the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait while countering China.
In the joint statement, the two countries are coordinating to assert that China’s actions to expand maritime presence in the East China Sea and South China Sea “contradict international law” and to reaffirm “the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
Japan’s Asahi Shimbun reported on the 30th that the draft of the joint statement to be released after the summit between US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington DC on the 10th of next month includes these points.
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