The United States continues to build military bases near China in an effort to deter Chinese naval forces through the “first island chain,” a line of islands located near mainland Asia. The Washington Post writes about this with reference to Chinese military analysts.
US military bases on these islands could prevent Chinese ships from leaving the South China Sea and entering the open waters of the Pacific if war breaks out.
In particular, 400 of the most modern models of Tomahawk cruise missiles were sent to Japan, and a new type of marine regiment, trained to conduct combat operations on small islands and destroy ships, was transferred to Okinawa. In addition, the Pentagon has gained access to a large number of airfields and naval bases in the Philippines, reducing the US need for aircraft carriers that would become targets of Chinese missiles and submarines in the event of a conflict.
Chinese leadership led by Xi Jinping is watching what is happening with alarm, the publication writes, and accusing the United States of trying to encircle the country.
“2023 was the most transformative year for U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific in a generation,” — US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Security Affairs in the Indo-Pacific Region previously stated Eli Ratner.
The key change was the distribution of American troops in small but highly mobile units in an arc across the region, rather than concentrating on large bases.
Washington has indeed increased its combat capability in this region, but adversaries “build more warships per year than we do,” said the new head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Paparo Jr.. He noted, however, that American ships are more combat-ready than Chinese ones, and the total number of warships still exceeds Beijing’s potential.
Against this background, China is making territorial claims against US allies, in particular the Philippines. The country is using the old warship Sierra Madre, which ran aground in 1999, as a small military base on the disputed reef, and Chinese ships have used water cannons against Philippine ships and vessels carrying men, equipment and materials to repair the old ship.
The ship is stuck on the Second Thomas Shoal, one of many disputed sites in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Beijing calls the operation of the rusty ship an occupation of the reef and demands its removal.
Even the American President has to intervene in the situation Joe Biden. According to the Financial Times, he intends to warn the Chinese leadership that the US-Philippine mutual defense treaty covers the Philippine fleet, and therefore the Sierra Madre, and therefore the potential for escalation is high.
In 2016, an international tribunal ruled that Second Thomas Shoal is part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone because it is less than 200 nautical miles from the Philippine island of Palawan. China did not agree.
