US bolsters military presence in Philippines to counter growing Chinese aggression

ZackCooper:

So the debate is really between what we might call replacement forces and these external forces.

And the idea has long been that outside forces, say, aircraft carriers operating from distant or long-range aircraft, might be able to hit targets in theater, right, maybe in the straits of Taiwan, if necessary.

But I think the argument of the Marine Corps and the Army, to some extent, is that it’s really important to always be there, isn’t it? How can you reassure your friends if you’re not there with them in the fight? And so having a layer of forces that is sort of a replacement force is extremely important.

And what they can do is they can sense the area around them. And we can put new capabilities, things like anti-ship cruise missiles, on those facilities if the Philippines and others let us, which can endanger Chinese targets if we get into a conflict.