US plans for war against China – known as the AirSea Battle – call for a massive air and missile assault on Chinese military bases and strategic industries supported by warships and submarines.
In a remarkably candid interview given Monday to Financial Times, the top U.S. Marine general in Japan says U.S.-NATO successes against Russia in Ukraine were the result of advance planning and preparation — to “set the groundwork” for war, in military jargon. This is exactly what the Pentagon is doing in Japan and Asia, he explained, to prepare for a conflict with China over Taiwan.
“Why did we achieve the level of success we achieved in Ukraine?” asked Lt. Gen. James Bierman rhetorically. A big part of that, he explained, is that after what he called “Russian aggression” in 2014 and 2015, “we got down to serious work preparing for the future conflict: training Ukrainians , prepositioning of supplies, identification of sites from which we could provide support, support operations”.
“We call it setting the stage. And we are preparing the ground in Japan, in the Philippines, in other places”. In other words, the US is tricking China into taking military action against Taiwan, the same way it tricked Russia into invading Ukraine after the coup. of state backed by the United States in 2014 that overthrew a pro-Russian government.
Lt. Gen. James Bierman is the commanding general of the Third Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) and Marine Forces Japan. Significantly, III MEF is the only permanently stationed Marine crisis response force outside of the United States. In other words, Bierman and his Marines would be on the front lines of any US-led conflict with China.
As explained by Financial Times, III MEF is “at the heart of a sweeping reform of the Marine Corps.” The emphasis is no longer on the “war on terror” in the Middle East, but on “the creation of small units specialized in rapid and clandestine operations in the islands and straits of East and Western Pacific in order to counter Beijing’s ‘no entry’ strategy.
US plans for war against China – known as the AirSea Battle – call for a massive air and missile assault on Chinese military bases and strategic industries supported by warships and submarines. The Pentagon is increasingly concerned about China’s military capabilities to defend its territory and secure nearby seas: a “denial of access” with its own missiles and warships.
US preparations for war with Japan continue apace. As Bierman boasted, both armies have “experienced an exponential increase…over the past year” in activity in the territory from which they would operate in the event of war. In recent exercises, the Marines have for the first time established bilateral tactical coordination centers on the ground, instead of liaising with a separate Japanese command point.
The goal is a much closer integration of American and Japanese forces. Instead of rotating Japanese military groups to operate alongside US forces in Japan, specific units were designated as part of the “reserve force” alongside their Marine, Navy and Army counterparts. United States Air Force.
Bierman also pointed out that similar preparations are underway in the Philippines where the government intends to allow the United States to preposition weapons and other supplies at five additional bases, in addition to the five it already has access to. . “We gain a point of leverage, a base of operations, which allows us to have a considerable lead in different operational plans,” he enthused.
The war waged by the United States against Russia in Ukraine and the escalation of its confrontation with China are the two sides of a strategy which aims to dominate the vast Eurasian landmass and which threatens to plunge humanity into a nuclear holocaust.
While Bierman highlights advanced operational planning for war with China, it is accompanied by a huge increase in military spending by the United States and Japan.
military newspaper, Stars and Stripes, reported on January 2 that the new US defense budget approved last month by President Biden included billions of dollars for new military infrastructure and strategic initiatives in the Pacific. The Indo-Pacific Command already has some 375,000 military and civilian personnel working in the region.
Command headquarters in Hawaii is receiving $87.9 million for barracks, $103 million for missile storage facility upgrades, $111 million for a company operations facility, and $29 million for an Army National Guard Readiness Center.
The Navy will receive $32 billion just for new warships and 36 F-35 aircraft, each costing about $89 million. The funding also includes $621 million for two SSN-774 Virginia-class attack submarines that are expected to conduct operations in the Pacific and receive maintenance at the Pearl Harbor shipyard.
To counter Chinese weapons, the Army is modernizing its artillery and missile systems, researching new longer-range guns and hypersonic weapons while modifying air- and sea-launched missiles and cruise missiles to that they can be launched on the ground by army units.
The Japanese military will purchase a range of offensive weapons, including cruise missiles such as Lockheed Martin’s Tomahawk and the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM). It also plans to upgrade its own Type 12 guided missiles, which can be fired from the surface, from ships or aircraft to strike ships, and to manufacture its own hypersonic guided missiles.
Japan will also strengthen its missile sites. It has already begun militarizing its southern islands immediately adjacent to Taiwan and off mainland China, including the Amami, Miyako, Ishigaki and Yonaguni islands. Tokyo has deployed or intends to deploy missile and electronic warfare units on these islands, in addition to building ammunition and fuel depots.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began a tour of Europe and North America on Sunday aimed at strengthening military ties. He will travel to Britain and Italy, partners in a deal struck last month to build new advanced fighter jets. He is also expected to sign an agreement in Britain which aims to establish the framework for visits by military forces from the other country.
Kishida’s last stop will be the United States, where he will meet with Biden at the White House to discuss military collaboration, Japan’s purchase of American missiles and efforts to block access. from China to advanced semiconductors. As part of the United States‘ economic war on China, Biden has imposed a series of bans on the sale to China of advanced computer chips or the machinery needed to develop and manufacture them. Japanese defense and foreign ministers are due to hold a series of talks with their American counterparts on Wednesday in Washington.
At the same time, the United States is preparing to make a provocative official trip to Taiwan, an island which it de facto recognizes, under the One China Policy, as part of China and of which Beijing is the legitimate government. Terry McCartin, the top US official for trade with China, is due to arrive in Taipei on Saturday leading a delegation that will include officials from other government agencies.
A visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last August, sanctioned by the White House, sparked high tensions and a dangerous show of force by both sides in the surrounding waters. By strengthening trade and military ties with Taipei, Washington is deliberately pushing Beijing into a corner to force it to fire the first shot in a war against Taiwan that the United States has already prepared for.
As Lt. Gen. Bierman bluntly explains: “When we face the Chinese adversary, they are going to possess the starting gun and who will have the capability to engage in hostilities…we can identify decisive key ground that must be held. , secured, defended, exploited”.
Peter Symonds, WSWS
(Article published in English on January 10, 2023)