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The Marines apparently think that 65-ton M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks won’t be needed in amphibious assaults launched to take them, especially since China is unlikely to base their own tanks on these islands. The small size of the islands limits the size of the force needed to defend them, as well as the size of the force required to take them. Subi Reef, the site of another air base, is only 976 acres. None of these “islands” are very large: Fiery Cross Reef, the site of a Chinese military air base, is only 677 acres.

If war unfortunately breaks out, the Marine Corps will almost certainly ride into the South China Sea on Navy transport ships and seize many of these islands with military bases, in order to deprive China of their ports and airfields and the ability to flex military power.

What am amphibious assault looks like: amphibious assault vehicles with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit debark from the USS Comstock to conduct an amphibious assault rehearsal, 2016.