US Marines Prepare To Confront China With Island Training

An Osprey carrying members of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces touching down in Gunma, Japan.

Wall Street Journal: Marines Prepare for Rising Challenge From China’s Military With Island Training

Drilling in Japan, U.S. forces practice recapturing territory as Beijing develops into ‘near-peer’ rival 

CAMP SOUMAGAHARA, Japan—The Marine Corps is stepping up training in Japan for island-based conflict in the Western Pacific, putting it at the leading edge of a pivot by the U.S. to face the military challenge from China. 

The Marines are preparing for a far larger and more sophisticated adversary than extremists in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the focus of their operations in recent years. China’s military satellites, cyberwarfare capabilities, use of artificial intelligence and narrowing gap with U.S. firepower make it what the Pentagon calls a “near-peer” rival. 

At one of a series of recent exercises, a few dozen Marines faded into long grass after touching down in two CH-47 Chinook helicopters, followed by Japanese soldiers arriving in two Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. Their simulated mission: avoiding detection and recapturing a port on an island inside the range of much of the enemy’s missiles and artillery. 

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WNU Editor: It is not only the US Marines who are training to confront China. These Marines are training with their Japanese counterparts.

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