Sensitive Straits

Whoa!

Hot intell that Great Satan is deploying those super long legged recon drones from glamourous Guam is just another of the fully crunk assets bulking up the string of pearls island chain that China is so freaked about.

China's love affair with the RMA hooked up with Chinese Naval Order #1 "To discourage the U.S. or any other foreign navy from intervening in Beijing's declared sphere of influence around Taiwan and in the South and East China Seas in a crisis" is quite provocative.

And Great Satan's navy is easily provoked. The recent voyage by Great Satan's latest greatest attack sub to Nippon yielded some extra sextralishious baby pillow talk -

"It’s no longer about how fast or how deep a sub could go. It’s the ability to have a persistent presence off shallow areas.”

Uh - why cause?

Because!

"...Take out an atlas and trace the string of islands that stretch for more than a thousand kilometers from the southern tip of Kyushu through Okinawa nearly as far as Taiwan. All are Japanese, although the southern-most is disputed by China.

"...There is a gap in this island chain between Okinawa and the Japanese island of Miyako known as the Miyako Channel.

"...The Miyako Channel is becoming one of the most sensitive maritime flashpoints in the world, along with the Malacca Strait, the Strait of Hormuz or the Taiwan Strait. It may be even more sensitive than the Taiwan Strait, as the U.S. and other navies avoid passing through it unless they are trying to be deliberately provocative.

"...On the other hand, the Miyako Strait is where the U.S., Chinese and Japanese navies grind together. Last April, a Chinese navy flotilla passed through the channel on the way to open sea. It was shadowed by Japanese destroyers, which in turn, were buzzed by Chinese helicopters, prompting Tokyo to make a formal protest about the harassment of its ships.

"...Japan is awakening to the fact that their extreme southern flank is basically undefended and open to invasion. For years most of Japan’s ground forces were deployed in the northern island of Hokkaido to guard against a Russian invasion. Gradually, Tokyo has been redeploying its troops to the west and south.

"...This may accelerate as Beijing is becoming more aggressive in asserting its hegemony over nearby waters, not just traditionally recognized territorial waters but the entire South China, East China and Yellow Seas. The Chinese strongly objected to the presence of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the Yellow Sea in joint U.S. and South Korean naval exercises.

Kinda makes the case for stashing Teufel Hunden at Okinawa!

"These developments put the presence of the U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force in a new light. Who is better equipped or trained to recapture isolated islands?

Pic - "Seizing and sustaining the initiative in the air, sea, space and cyber domains"