Explainer: Why the US is overhauling its marines on Japan's Okinawa

The United States is planning to reinforce the islands separating the East China Sea from the Western Pacific because they are close to Taiwan and form part of what military planners refer to as the 'First Island Chain' extending down to Indonesia, that hems in China's forces. Japan fears the loss of Taiwan to mainland China would threaten shipping lanes that supply its oil and would undermine US influence in the region.

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