2023 has just begun, and the United States and its allies can't wait to accelerate the pace of containment of China. Over the past few days, US military reconnaissance planes have continued to conduct reconnaissance in the airspace around China. At the same time, a number of large surface ships of the US military are also operating in the waters around China. However, the more active the U.S. military is now around China, the less likely it is to face China.
In recent years, China has developed faster and faster, especially its military strength, and it has not lost to the United States. At present, due to the continuous provocations of the United States, the situation around China is becoming more and more tense. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is conducting intensive military training to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity and maintain regional stability.
As the PLA's strength continues to increase, the frequency of mainland air force and navy activities in the western Pacific is also increasing. Last year, Chinese Air Force H-6K bombers made several trips to the airspace over the western Pacific, and the Chinese naval fleet also trained and cruised in the western Pacific several times. This means that the PLA has already broken through the US blockade of China in the so-called "first island chain".
Moreover, it is worth mentioning that at the end of last year, during its training trip to the western Pacific, the Liaoning aircraft carrier fleet of the mainland navy also went deep into the southern western Pacific and conducted carrier-based aircraft takeoff and landing training in waters only 600 kilometers from Guam. This means that the PLA already has the strength to break through the so-called "second island chain".
In the face of the rapidly growing strength of the People's Liberation Army, the United States has long been exhausted. However, the US military is still thief-minded, and is constantly strengthening its military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region in an attempt to contain China. Recently, US Defense Secretary Austin announced at the US-Japan 2+2 meeting that the United States will deploy a coastal combat regiment in Okinawa to enhance the regional deterrence of the US military.
According to reports, on the 11th local time, US Secretary of State Blinken, Defense Secretary Austin, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Yasuichi Hamada held talks in Washington. After the talks, the US Department of Defense issued a statement saying that Austin said on the same day that the United States and Japan would strengthen military ties and upgrade the military posture of the US military in Japan.
Given the increasingly complex security environment in the Indo-Pacific, the United States has decided to keep the 12th Marine Corps in Japan and reorganize it into the 12th Littoral Operations Group by 2025, Austin said. It is reported that the so-called Littoral Operations Regiment is the product of the strategic transformation of the US Marine Corps after US Marine Corps Commander David Bergers took office.
By design, the U.S. Marine Corps Litlitsky Operations Regiment consisted of 1,800 to 2,000 people, including a command post, a Littoral Combat Corps, and a logistics battalion. Among them, the Primorsky Combat Team consisted of a 1 mechanized infantry battalion and 1 anti-ship missile company.
The main equipment of the Primorsky Combat Regiment includes the Maritime Expeditionary Ship Interception System, the MQ-9 Reaper UAV, the AN/TPS-80 ground-based air defense radar and light amphibious ships. The above equipment is responsible for anti-ship operations and land offensive operations, reconnaissance strikes, air surveillance, and force transmission.
According to the US vision, the Marine Corps will form three coastal combat regiments, the first of which was established in March last year and deployed in Hawaii. The second Littoral Operations Regiment, currently being planned by the U.S. military, will be deployed in Okinawa to enhance the ability of U.S. forces stationed in Japan to assist in the defense of Japan's outlying islands.
As for the third littoral combat regiment, it will most likely be deployed at the US military base in Guam. In other words, the U.S. Marine Corps' three littoral operations regiments are all planned to be deployed in the Asia-Pacific region. The move by the US military is obviously to improve its deterrence and influence in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby maintaining the position of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region.
As for the US plan to deploy the Littoral Operations Group in Okinawa, the US media pointed out that this move sends a strong signal to China and aims to deter China. At the same time, the Japanese media also pointed out that the US military claimed that this move was to enhance the ability to assist in defense of Japan's outlying islands, but this is only a "military incident", and its real purpose is to deal with "something in the Taiwan Strait."
Japanese media said that the islands around Okinawa are crisscrossed and are very suitable for the deployment of coastal combat regiments. Moreover, Okinawa is the top priority of the so-called "first island chain", and if the US Littoral Operations Group is deployed here and occupies important islands, it means that the US military will block the waterways in and out of the East China Sea into and out of the Pacific Ocean, and the PLA's ability to fight in the far seas will inevitably be affected.
Although the relevant reports of the US and Japanese media are suspected of hype, it is undeniable that the US military's plan to deploy the Littoral Operation Group in Okinawa is indeed clearly aimed at China. However, the Chinese side has long stressed that Jiefang is not afraid of any provocation. No matter what the US military deploys around China, the PLA has the confidence to defend the security of the motherland, resolutely crack down on the invading enemy, and advise the United States not to try the law by example.