Defend the Taiwan Strait! The new version of the U.S. Army's combat guide is exposed: the first island chain deploys long-range precision strike power

The U.S. Department of Defense recently released a new version of the Army Operations Guide "How the Army Fights," which states that the U.S. military will deploy long-range precision strike forces in the first island chain to ensure that the U.S. troops stationed there can quickly go into action from the first day a military conflict breaks out in areas such as the Taiwan Strait.

According to the Chosun Ilbo, the guideline formulated by Christopher LaNeve, former chief of staff of the South Korean-U.S. coalition and current acting chief of staff of the U.S. Army, defines the Chinese People's Liberation Army as a "major threat." The core strategy lies in "comprehensive force projection" to the first island chain from Kyushu, Japan, to the south, through Taiwan and the Philippines.

The guide points out that in response to China's rapid action capabilities and "anti-access/area denial" (A2/AD) strategy, the U.S. military will no longer rely on traditional long-term deployments. Instead, through the forward-deployed "Multi-Domain Task Force" (MDTF), it will prepare long-range missiles and air defense networks around the Taiwan Strait, and at the same time enrich weapons, ammunition and fuel reserves, so as to have the ability to attack China's local missile launch facilities and maritime targets immediately.

In order to strengthen its operational resilience, the US military has simultaneously established rear support bases in the second island chain, mainly from Tokyo, Guam to Palau, to provide ammunition, fuel supplies and medical support, and to combine unmanned surface vessels and drones for transportation. This move is intended to transform the exposed frontier on the Taiwan Strait defense line into a secure platform for the Allies to sustainably project power.

In addition, although South Korea is not geographically within the first island chain, Xavier Brunson, commander of the U.S. Forces in Korea, pointed out that South Korea's location is like a "dagger piercing China's east coast" and is an important strategic fulcrum to contain China.