{"id":45635,"date":"2025-05-15T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2025\/05\/15\/pacific-land-force-leaders-seek-positional-advantage-against-china\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:22:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:22:56","slug":"pacific-land-force-leaders-seek-positional-advantage-against-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/2025\/05\/15\/pacific-land-force-leaders-seek-positional-advantage-against-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacific land force leaders seek \u2018positional advantage\u2019 against China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Top generals in the Pacific are aiming to create \u201cpositional advantage\u201d using a combination of land forces and maritime assets to counter Chinese military aggression in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some units, such as the Japanese Self-Defense Force, are positioned inside the first island chain around China. While others, such as the Australian Defence Force and Armed Forces of the Philippines, are farther out but plan to use terrain as they monitor Chinese military maneuvers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leaders from those three militaries discussed their respective roles alongside the head of U.S. Army Pacific, Gen. Ronald Clark, on Wednesday at the Association of the U.S. Army\u2019s annual Land Forces Pacific conference in Honolulu, Hawaii.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, commanding general of the Philippine Army, said changes in the operational environment, in part due to modern technologies, have \u201cradically altered the definition of key terrain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2025\/05\/14\/army-task-forces-centerpiece-for-deterring-china-indopacom-boss\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PrSM.jpg_450792.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Army task forces \u2018centerpiece\u2019 for deterring China: INDOPACOM boss<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Adm. Samuel Paparo praised the fires capabilities brought to a potential fight by the Army\u2019s multidomain task forces in the Pacific.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some of that is more ships and boats coming under the control of traditional land forces, while other influences include longer-reaching fires that can hold Chinese ships at bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, though, Clark said, it will take a combination of those nations and others to effectively contain Chinese military action in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s not just about the United States Army, it\u2019s not just about our joint force, it\u2019s about our allies and partners,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gen. Yasunori Morishita, chief of staff for Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces, said he sees Japan\u2019s location as a key block to Chinese expansion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart, chief of the Australian Army, ongoing, daily campaigning is key to winning the competition phase of any potential conflict, which leaders hope will ultimately deter conflict overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stuart pointed to recent acquisitions of ships and light vehicles that his country has approved as ways to \u201cachieve sea denial and kill ships from the land, dominate key and vital terrain\u201d in the littoral regions, those areas of the sea close to land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following Australia\u2019s 2023 defense review, the country began looking to acquire lighter, smaller vehicles for moving in and around littoral zone land features, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2023\/10\/06\/how-australias-strategic-review-is-changing-army-acquisition-plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/land\/2023\/10\/06\/how-australias-strategic-review-is-changing-army-acquisition-plans\/\">Defense News<\/a> previously reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time, the Australian military will acquire 28 new ships for its land forces to facilitate that maneuver, the most it\u2019s had since the end of World War II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other review recommendations include an enhanced long-range strike capability for multiple domains of warfare. Planners also expect to field a fully enabled and integrated amphibious combined arms land system and a mobile, joint expeditionary theater logistics system, Defense News reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the strike side of the house, the review also recommended acquiring more M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and including local weapons manufacturing to ensure stock levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adding the HIMARS and the Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM, will give the Australian military greater land and maritime target reach, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmcu.edu\/Outreach\/Marine-Corps-University-Press\/MCU-Journal\/JAMS-vol-15-no-2\/Land-Power-in-the-Littoral\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.usmcu.edu\/Outreach\/Marine-Corps-University-Press\/MCU-Journal\/JAMS-vol-15-no-2\/Land-Power-in-the-Littoral\/\">Journal of Advanced Military Studies<\/a> article published last fall. The Australian Army will acquire 42 HIMARS, the article notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Japan, meanwhile, has built a new amphibious unit and launched its first such ship for the unit in November, <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/2024\/11\/01\/japan-launches-first-amphibious-ship-for-new-unit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/2024\/11\/01\/japan-launches-first-amphibious-ship-for-new-unit\">U.S. Naval Institute <\/a>reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The maritime asset is key for the island nation to resupply its long island chain. The first ship, the JS Nihonbare, has similar capabilities to the U.S. Army\u2019s Runnymede-class large landing craft, according to USNI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, the unit will contain 10 such vessels, four of which will be in the Nihonbare class, two 3,500-ton transport vessels and four maneuver support vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elsewhere, the Philippine Army is actively training with U.S. Marines and Army assets, adopting an antiship strike capability of its own and facilitating U.S. strike platforms in their region through recent exercises such as Balikatan and Valiant Shield, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Maritime Key Terrain Security Operation recently concluded following an experiment with stand-in force concepts that deployed \u201clow-signature, light-weight formations to various islands in the Batanes and Babuyan Island chains to rehearse Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations, test sensing capabilities, and simulate securing and defending key maritime terrain,\u201d according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.3rdmlr.marines.mil\/Media-Room\/Stories\/Article\/Article\/4174539\/balikatan-25-3d-mlr-concludes-maritime-key-terrain-security-operations-in-batan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"https:\/\/www.3rdmlr.marines.mil\/Media-Room\/Stories\/Article\/Article\/4174539\/balikatan-25-3d-mlr-concludes-maritime-key-terrain-security-operations-in-batan\/\">Marine release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The event included the simulated use of the Marines\u2019 newest weapon, the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, which deployed onto Batan Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWalking off the C-130 with NMESIS onto that island was one small step for a Marine, and one giant leap for U .S.-Philippine-delivered sea denial capabilities,\u201d said Col. John G. Lehane, commanding officer of the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More ships, partnerships and strike assets are in store for Pacific land forces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":88167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":11,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[45,160,11,14,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3481],"class_list":["post-45635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-land","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"SIZEQ7XL5NCVRLQWQUKJQSQLWU","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2025\/05\/15\/pacific-land-force-leaders-seek-positional-advantage-against-china\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pacific land force leaders seek \u2018positional advantage\u2019 against China - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"More ships, partnerships and strike assets are in store for Pacific land forces.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pacific land force leaders seek \u2018positional advantage\u2019 against China\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"More ships, partnerships and strike assets are in store for Pacific land forces.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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