US Marines are learning to fight adversaries like China on remote islands in response to growing tensions in the Pacific, a report says.
Troops train for fight through a harsh landscape after 20 years of ground combat in the Middle East, according to the Washington Post.
A U.S. Navy admiral recently described to the U.S. House Armed Services Committee the growing threat posed by China.
U.S. Navy Admiral John Aquilino. said its military buildup was on a “scale not seen since World War II” and that Beijing was on track to be able to invade Taiwan by 2027.
The Army is creating new Marine units, such as the 3rd Littoral Marine Regiment, designed to be smaller and more agile and would work to support a larger joint force.
These smaller, more mobile units would gather intelligence and share it quickly rather than conducting traditional amphibious assaults.
They would also be able to carry out precision strikes when necessary, such as sinking ships with medium-range missiles, according to the Post.
“We spent the better part of the last 20 years dealing with a terrorist adversary who was not superbly armed, who did not have access to the full extent of national power,” said Col. John Lehane , commander of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment. told the Post.
“And now we need to redirect our training to someone who might have that ability.”
Lehane said the unit’s most valuable role would be the ability to “see things in the battle space, get targeting data, make sense of what’s happening while others people may not be able to.”
Pentagon experts expect U.S. satellites to be jammed or destroyed by China in the event of a potential war, the Post notes.
The new Marine forces are expected to play a critical role in enabling broader joint operations aimed at countering Chinese aggression in the region toward countries like Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines.
In particular, Taiwan has long feared a potential invasion from China.
It was reported this week that China has built a model of a key area of the Taiwanese capital where the presidential office and other government buildings are located in the desert area of Inner Mongolia.
China has also been documented build models of American aircraft carriers and other warships on training sites, likely to test and improve its missiles.
China has the advantage on the ground
U.S. Marines assigned to All Domain Reconnaissance Detachment, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, board the Expeditionary Sea Base USS Lewis B. Puller from a 35-foot rigid-hull inflatable boat U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Sarah Stegall
China has for decades pressured governments not to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation and has promised to “unify” the self-ruled island with the mainland by 2050.
Beijing has significantly expanded its reach in the Pacific in recent years, including building artificial islands for military outposts in the South China Sea and seeking to expand its bases in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the Post notes.
Not only does China have the largest military forces in the region, but it would also have a terrain advantage and could more easily deploy its approximately one million troops, ships and aircraft in any battle.
By comparison, American ships and planes would have to travel thousands of kilometers or rely on partner countries allowing them to station men and weapons on their territory.
The U.S. Marine Corps’ new plan is known as Force Design and will aim to put Marines on the front lines while keeping them safe from radar and other detection methods.
These “surrogate” groups, which could include thousands of people in an area, would be used to support larger joint forces facing major adversaries.
Analysts say the Marines’ new strategy is promising, but will face challenges such as logistical hurdles in such a large maritime region.
It is also unclear whether regional partners like Japan would allow U.S. forces to fight from their territory, as some officials may fear angering Beijing and being drawn into conflict between themselves and the United States. United, the Post said.
In 2021, the Washington-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, war games conducted imagine how a war between China and the United States over Taiwan would play out.
In one of the most pessimistic scenarios, 900 American fighters and attack planes would be lost in four weeks, the equivalent of half of the combat aircraft of the US Air Force and Navy.
However, the losses on both sides would be epic.
Mark Cancian, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Business Insider that the war game showed: “The United States and Taiwan are generally successful in keeping the island out of Chinese occupation, but the price to pay for this is very high. high – losses of hundreds of aircraft, aircraft carriers and terrible devastation to the Taiwanese economy as well as the Chinese navy and air force. »
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