Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the US Navy’s chief of naval operations, issued her marching orders early this year: prepare for a naval war with China by 2027.
Franchetti, the 33rd US Navy chief, wanted at least 60% readiness of the 380-ship fleet, including sub-surface platforms, as the US Navy has moved away from assessing threats based purely on the number of battle force ships or tonnage.
She wanted to take advantage of the US’s advanced technology and changes in the security environment as China has built the world’s largest navy and coast guard.
Together with the Army and the Air Force, the US Navy has been upgrading its capability to increase deterrence and discourage China from its plan to invade Taiwan by 2027.
The Indo-Pacific commanders have long warned of China’s ambitions to annex Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province, on the 100th anniversary of China’s People’s Liberation Army.
When the Communist forces emerged victorious in 1949, the nationalist Kuomintang Party led by General Chiang Kai-shek fled to tiny Taiwan.
President Xi Jinping has dreams of uniting China after it gained control of Tibet, Macau, and Hong Kong.
He wanted China to become the number one economic and military power by 2049, 100 years after the Communist Party took power in China from the ashes of the Second World War and a bruising civil war.
Washington has been making all necessary preparations to prevent China from taking over Taiwan, a major semiconductor product source that runs consumer electronic products and weapons systems.
The US Navy has two carrier battle groups in the Indo-Pacific region and has started deploying to Guam nuclear-powered attack submarines and B-52 strategic bombers closer to the Taiwan Straits.
It had gained more logistics bases in the Philippines. More importantly, it has access to seven airfields, two Army bases, and several naval bases.
As part of its efforts to deter China from attacking Taiwan, the US has deployed long-range missile systems in southern Japan and the northern Philippines.
Military sources said the US would also set up temporary bases in southwestern Japan, where the US Marine Littoral Regiment can deploy its multiple-launch High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
Japan’s Self-Defense Forces would only support US operations by providing fuel and ammunition.
In the Philippines, the US Army would deploy its Multi-Domain Task Force’s long-range fire unit, the Typhon launcher, in northern Luzon.
The US has also deployed several HIMARS in the Philippines for joint exercises with the Philippine Army and Marines.
The deployment of medium-range missiles and multi-rocket launchers in both Japan and the Philippines were US pressure tactics on China and not for the defense of Japan and the Philippines.
Washington will not consider Tokyo and Manila’s interests, but only its interests. During World War II, the US liberated the Philippines, but Manila paid a heavy price–it was the most destroyed city after Warsaw in Europe.
Thus, the US won’t care if China targets the Philippines and destroys cities as long as the US carries out its mission of stopping China from taking over Taiwan.
During Donald Trump’s first term at the White House, from 2016 to 2020, he lobbied hard for large-scale modernization of US strategic weapons, or nuclear weapons.
During his first watch, the sea-launched cruise missile SLCM-N began testing.
If Donald Trump did not walk away from the Intermediate Nuclear Force (INF) treaty during his first term, the deployment of the Typhon medium-range missile launcher to the Phillippines would be banned.
From northern Luzon, a Tomahawk missile, or standard SM-6, launched from a Typhon could hit targets in China’s coastal cities.
The United States has also been using Japan and South Korea to enhance its nuclear umbrella in the region to expand missile deployment in the region.
But the US and its allies should expect China to retaliate by imposing large-scale economic sanctions, its main weapon as the world’s second-largest economy.
For instance, Beijing slapped some economic sanctions on Seoul when the US deployed its anti-ballistic missile defense system THAAD there.
In the past, Beijing slapped non-tariff barriers on the Philippines’s banana and pineapple exports due to territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Thus, with the deployment of the Typhon and HIMARS in the Philippines, the United States could put its ally in greater danger, both militarily and economically.
It could also impede any dialogue to resolve disputes in the South China Sea because of the increasing US presence, creating greater political and security instability in the region.
The Marcos administration must assess whether the deployment of HIMARS and Typhon on its soil is for deterrence or will become a magnet for attack.
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