With the intensification of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the center of gravity of the United States is gradually tilting towards the Pacific-Indian Ocean. Recently, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Pacific announced plans to deploy land-based intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the Indo-Pacific region in 2024, including the Standard-6 land-attack missile, Tomahawk cruise missile, and Dark Eagle hypersonic missile. This news came as a relief to Japan, as it did not want to fall victim to a military conflict again.
As early as November this year, the commander of the Pacific Army said that land-based medium-range missiles would be deployed in the Asia-Pacific region next year in order to prevent Chinese mainland from launching an attack on Taiwan Island. Although these Americans do not have the right to decide whether to deploy missiles in the Asia-Pacific region, nor do they have the right to decide the specific time and place of deployment, they are just a mouthpiece for Washington.
Japan's Nikkei Asian Review reported the news, and its motives are interesting. It may be to spy on China's attitude on this matter, or to prepare a plan in advance. However, the analysis of the deployment sites shows that these countries fear that they could become targets of China in the event of an armed conflict. But this concern seems a bit far-fetched, after all, there is a fact that the US military has not paid attention to Japan's request to ground the "Osprey" tiltrotor aircraft, which shows that the US military does not care about the opinions of these countries.
If the U.S. military really wants to deploy medium-range missiles on the first island chain, then where they are deployed will be a huge challenge. Although Japan** believes that the deployment site may be at the US military ** base, this will increase the cost of governance in the United States. In addition, there is a risk in deploying all medium-range missiles on **, and in the event of a conflict, the PLA will only need a few rounds of strikes to destroy entire missile positions and sea and air bases. Therefore, ** has retreated from the rear to the front.
Due to the serious lag in the development of hypersonic missiles, the US military currently relies mainly on modified standard missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles. The failure of hypersonic missiles has further reduced the advantage of the US military in the Pacific region. In addition, there are questions about the test launch of medium-range missiles.
* Not a very large island, with limited areas suitable for deploying missiles. Moreover, the deployment of all medium-range missiles on ** makes ** a target for the PLA. As a result, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines will not feel at ease when they are struggling to do it alone. The problem of the US military deploying missiles in the Asia-Pacific region may persist for a long time, and Japan may only be able to escape the catastrophe for the time being, but sooner or later it will still have to face the US decision.
In general, the decision of the United States to deploy land-based medium-range ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific region caused a sigh of relief in Japan. However, the U.S. military still faces challenges in missile deployment and selection, and this decision could cause concern for U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region. There is no clear answer to the question of where medium-range missiles will be deployed, but both ** and other countries have their own problems and risks. The deployment of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region is likely to increase the cost of its governance, while the PLA** has retreated from the rear to the front line amid the increased capabilities of the Navy in the face of its increased ocean-going combat capabilities. As a result, U.S. decision-making may face a range of challenges and constraints in its practical application.