The US Rim of the Pacific Military Exercise Incorporates Island-Hopping Tactics” to Deter the Chinese Military”

Taiwan media reported on June 8 that the US Navy recently announced the details of the Rim of the Pacific Military Exercise (RIMPAC) 2022, in addition to the first combined operation of four unmanned ships and the manned platforms, the newly formed coastal combat group will also appear and be named as the modern version of the island-hopping tactics of “expeditionary forward base operations”.

In March this year, the U.S. Marine Corps transformed its infantry regiments into small, maneuverable, expeditionary advanced base detachments with anti-ship capabilities. This move is not only in line with the U.S. Marine Corps’ 2030 Strategy, but also to focus on major threats in the Indo-Pacific region. It is reported that the “island-hopping tactic” is likely to be an important tactical training for the RIMPAC exercise, which is also a new maritime strategy developed by the US military in recent years. The US military has revealed that through this tactic, the US military will choose to rely on strong air power, deploy marines and engineers on key islands, control the island, quickly repair or establish a simple runway for F-35 fighters to stop and refuel, and then deploy “Haimas multiple rocket launchers” with a range of hundreds of kilometers to control the surrounding waters.

The U.S. Marine Corps is transitioning to a “great power competition” strategy, while the Coastal Combat Corps are more integrated with air defense, anti-ship, maritime surveillance and logistical supplies. Analysts believe that the United States expanded the scale of RIMPAC in 2022 to demonstrate its Indo-Pacific strategy, that is, the great power competition strategy against the Chinese Communist Party and Russia. The expeditionary advanced base operations implied not only the meaning of defending Taiwan, but also deters the Chinese Communists by force.