US Marines are training for war with adversaries like China on a remote island but the strategy has been branded "ridiculous" as an expert claims it will "backfire".
The 3rd Marine Regiment, which has existed since the early 20th century, has sent units to fight in WW2, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Persian Gulf War, and more recently wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, in 2022, it was announced small units called Marine Littoral Units, which are based in Hawaii, were to be dispatched to the Pacific to challenge China's presence there.
It is the first to be deployed there. The US already has a large footprint in the Pacific region with approximately 375,000 Department of Defence military and civilian personnel spread across the Indo-Pacific region, according to Dr Maria Ryan, Associate Professor of American History at the University of Nottingham.
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The team was created to fight on islands and long coastal shorelines and had been given special equipment in the US bid to figure out how to win a fight against China in their own backyard.
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"The ultimate goal is to contain Chinese power and preserve, for as long as possible, the US position as the dominant power in the Asia Pacific", Dr Ryan exclusively told The Mirror. "Neither the US nor China want to go to war, but both seem to believe that the safest way to prevent this from happening is to prepare to fight a war if necessary. The idea is that a credible defence should deter the other side from launching war."
However, some experts are less than impressed with the idea as Professor Sean McFate, College of International Security Affairs at the National Defense University, believes it is "ridiculous" to prepare for a land war.
US Marine Corps is equipped with light weapons that are not conducive to coastal operations and mainly focus on training on land - something that Professor McFate believes is an "antiquated strategic concept that will backfire."
He told The Mirror: "The US’ 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment is part of a larger USMC plan called Force Design 2030 established a few years ago to take on China. FD 2030 has many inspired ideas but the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment is not one of them. It imagines a war with China will involve amphibious beach landings like WWII’s island hopping.
"This is ridiculous because the future of war will not look like WWII with better technology. Future wars never look like past ones, and it’s an example of: 'Generals always fight the last war they won.' For the US that was 1945. The US is now investing in an antiquated strategic concept that will backfire."