At present, the US Marine Corps and the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force are staging a grand joint military exercise called "Iron Fist" in the Okinawa area; you must know that this "Iron Fist" has been a thing on the territory of the United States for more than 10 years, and it was not until last year that it was moved to Japan for training, and this clearly exposes that the sight and focus of the US-Japan military alliance is quietly shifting to the Asia-Pacific region.
It has also been revealed that the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force also dispatched its own elite unit, the "Marine Mobile Regiment," which is called the "Japanese version of the Marine Corps" by the people of the rivers and lakes, and specializes in the operation of seizing the island.
After all, this move by the United States and Japan clearly reveals their intention to meddle in the Taiwan Strait. But then again, when it comes to which island they are going to "seize" in the exercise, it is estimated that some people will reflexively think of the island of Taiwan when they hear it, but here, we have to tell the truth, that island will never be the island of Taiwan.
Why does the location of Taiwan make it impractical for the United States and Japan to seize the island with only Marines? The reason lies in the fact that the strategic initiative in the Taiwan Strait is firmly in the hands of the PLA. The Marine Corps, essentially regarded as the "Second Army", relied on maritime combat equipment and demonstrated maritime mobility and landing assault capabilities that land forces could not match. However, in such a special operational environment as the Taiwan Strait, if the United States and Japan intend to get involved or even dream of seizing islands, the forces they should give priority to are the navy and air force. After all, once the PLA blockades the Taiwan Strait, it may be difficult to break through the defense line with the landing assault capability of the Marine Corps alone. As far as the United States and Japan are concerned, only with the help of sea and air forces, they may still have the power to try.
When it comes to the Okinawa region, it is actually made up of many islands, so it is often referred to as the "Okinawa Islands" geographically. Among them, Okinawa, the core island of the Ryukyu Islands, has an area of only 1,208 square kilometers. In comparison, Taiwan Island, the largest island in China, has an area of 3580,000 square kilometers, almost 30 times the size of Okinawa! This huge disparity in area means that the tactical exercise of "seizing the island" conducted in the Okinawa area has almost no reference value for Taiwan. What's more, the geography of Taiwan is extremely complex, which is very different from Okinawa. Therefore, if the United States and Japan really want to conduct an "island-grabbing" exercise against Taiwan Island, they will never choose Okinawa Island as the simulated object.
So, which island did the United States and Japan really rehearse seizing? The answer is the Ryukyu Islands. The reason why the Ryukyu Islands have become the focus of attention of the United States and Japan is that it is the closest piece of territory to the Taiwan Strait among the territories actually controlled by the United States and Japan. In recent years, in order to interfere in the situation in the Taiwan Strait, the United States and Japan have not hesitated to strengthen their military deployment in Okinawa, which has even aroused strong dissatisfaction and ** among the Okinawan people.
It also worries the United States and Japan that China may take action against the Ryukyu Islands if a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait and they are ready to take action. It is worth noting that the issue of Japan's sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands has always been controversial, and it is an indisputable fact that the Ryukyu people have a sense of closeness to China and admiration for traditional Chinese culture.
Therefore, if the United States and Japan push China too much, causing China to take action against the Ryukyu Islands while recovering Taiwan, then Japan may fall into the embarrassing situation of "losing its wife and losing its troops" - not only will it fail to intervene in the Taiwan Strait, but it may not even be able to protect the Ryukyu Islands.
In response to this possibility, the United States and Japan recently held an exercise against the Ryukyu Islands. According to Japanese media reports, the Japanese side is also preparing to evacuate residents from Okinawa when a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait. Obviously, for Japan, Okinawa seems to be more important than the Taiwan region.
As the PLA's military strength has steadily increased, it is clear that the United States and Japan have become more cautious about going head-to-head with the PLA. Although the United States has expanded its military presence around China in recent years, from a macro perspective, the United States and Japan are increasingly concerned about a war with China. Taking last year as an example, although Japan took the same stance with the United States in words, in practice, especially in preparing to intervene in Taiwan Strait affairs by force, Japan's pace lagged behind noticeably, and this even aroused dissatisfaction on the part of the United States.
In fact, the United States itself has not shown much of a tough posture. Judging from the strategic layout of the US military in recent years, they are gradually withdrawing their main forces from the first island chain and intend to build it into an important anti-missile base. In this joint exercise, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces were assigned the heavy tasks of key tasks such as landing on the beach and clearing the battlefield, while the US military was only responsible for the finishing work after the war.
So why are the United States and Japan showing such caution? The answer is obvious: the PLA's Dongfeng missiles are always on high alert, and their powerful range not only covers the Taiwan region, but also extends to the entire territory of Japan. Under this powerful deterrent, any rash move could lead to undesirable consequences.
Therefore, the United States naturally did not dare to get involved lightly, but chose to put Japan on the cusp. However, Japan is not unwary, and they are well aware that the confrontation with the PLA is an extremely difficult challenge, not only about how to achieve victory, but also about how to preserve the dignity of the country in the face of defeat.
It is not difficult to understand, therefore, why Japan has been so tough in words and hesitant in action. After all, even the US military itself seems to be timid, let alone Japan?
Through in-depth analysis, it is not difficult to see that the reason why the United States and Japan are cautious about a head-on conflict with the PLA is, on the one hand, because of the strong deterrence brought about by the increase in the military strength of the PLA, and on the other hand, because the United States and Japan themselves are well aware of the arduousness of confrontation with the PLA. Under these circumstances, the United States and Japan have had to adopt a more cautious and prudent strategy to deal with the current complex situation.