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jsonstein@masto.deoan.org ("Jeff Sonstein") wrote:
Tension with the longer‑term strategy
The 2026 National Defense Strategy still treats China and the Indo‑Pacific as the pacing challenge, calling for a denial‑focused posture along the first island chain and more ships, missile defenses, and rotational units in Japan, the Philippines, and related areas.
That same strategy explicitly talks about reallocating resources from other theaters (especially Europe) to bolster Indo‑Pacific posture, so pulling the Okinawa‑based 31st MEU toward CENTCOM looks like a risk trade‑off: reinforcing an acute Iran crisis at some expense to day‑to‑day forward presence in Asia.Commentary around the strategy and current moves notes that allies in the Pacific are expected to shoulder more of the local deterrence burden as U.S. amphibious and naval assets flex to other flashpoints.