These forces, monitored by the Wall Street Journal, belong to the 3rd Coastal Regiment of the Marines, a force created two years ago as part of a comprehensive redesign to better prepare the US Marine Corps for great power competition.
These forces are preparing to intervene in the event of an expected Chinese attack on Taiwan, which could spark a major war if the West intervenes to defend Taiwan.
In the event of war, these Marines move forward with missiles and radars, and will be deployed in small groups across islands and coasts. After that, they will keep moving until Chinese missiles, sensors and drones cannot find them.
Colonel John Lehane, commander of the 2,500-soldier regiment based in Hawaii, said the adversary would have to “expend an enormous amount of resources to figure out where we are and what we’re doing.”
In the event of war, threats would be everywhere, making it difficult to provide them with supplies. China possesses a massive arsenal of missiles, as well as drones of all shapes and sizes. It has the advantage of fighting in what it considers its own backyard, close to its navy, military bases, and an extensive surveillance network.
The goal of these forces during the conflict
Part of the Marines’ goal is to “occupy” China in the early stages of the conflict, buying time for other U.S. forces to deploy into position.
From the front line, they would get a close-up picture of the battlefield using sensors and small drones, launching missiles to destroy Chinese ships or sending targeting data to American and allied aircraft or warships to strike.
China and the “defense bubble”
These coastal regiments face two problems, said Mark Cancian, a former Marine colonel.
First, resupplying missiles in hardline positions within China’s “defense bubble” in any conflict would be difficult.
Cancian, who conducted a war exercise last year involving island-hopping Marines, said the danger was that they would run out of forces after a few precise strikes.
“Access” was the other hurdle, he said. The Philippine capital, Manila, is likely to welcome the Marines if fighting breaks out in the South China Sea, where it faces direct threats from Beijing.
But the Philippines may avoid doing the same to help the United States fend off a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
Troop locations
The Marine Corps has two coastal regiments, one in Hawaii and the other stationed in Okinawa, Japan. The location of the third regiment is awaited, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Kancian said the Marines would be more effective if they were already in position at the outbreak of hostilities, giving the Japan-based regiment an advantage because they have the ability to move down the country’s Ryukyu Islands, which extend southwest to Taiwan.
This cohort spends more time in the Philippines. They arrived in April to take part in the recently concluded exercise, called Balikatan, and will remain there until June when they will take part in another set of exercises. By then, many of them will have registered for as many as five of the past 14 months in the Philippines.
All this increases the chances of their presence in the event of a crisis erupting between China and Taiwan.
Taiwan crisis
Over the past four years, China has been carrying out periodic military activities around Taiwan, including large-scale military exercises in 2022 and 2023.
The People’s Liberation Army said in its daily bulletin that Lai insists on being a “pawn” in the hands of external forces to undermine China’s development.
“If the Taiwan independence separatist forces insist on going their own way or even risk it, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will obey orders and take decisive measures to resolutely crush all separatist plots,” he added.
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