The strategic geography of the Pacific's first island chain

Countries & Cities · Published 12 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: From the Kamchatka Peninsula to the Malay Peninsula, a string of archipelagos forms a vital military barrier. This chain of islands is more than just geography; it is a central pillar of US foreign policy and a primary theater for modern naval competition.

The first island chain is a continuous string of major Pacific archipelagos extending from the northeast Kamchatka Peninsula to the southwest Malay Peninsula. It comprises several key groups: Borneo, the northern Philippines, Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and the Kuril Islands. Strategically, this chain serves as a military barrier to the wider Pacific Ocean, largely due to the depth of the waters involved. West of the chain, the relatively shallow waters of the East China Sea and Yellow Sea make submarine detection significantly easier, complicating clandestine naval operations.

For the People's Republic of China (PRC), the chain represents a perceived constraint to maritime security. PRC military strategists view these islands as a 'cordon sanitaire' intended to encircle them and limit their strategic depth. A critical point of tension is Taiwan, situated at the chain's midpoint. Controlling Taiwan's deeper eastern waters would allow the People's Liberation Army Navy's ballistic missile submarines to access the Pacific with less risk of detection, providing a more credible second-strike capability. Conversely, the US and its allies aim to use the chain to deny China access to the western Pacific.

The geopolitical landscape is shifting through active military realignment. In the late 2010s, Japan began deploying assets to islands like Yonaguni to counter Chinese presence. The US has also expanded its footprint, announcing four new bases in the Philippines in 2023 and maintaining a 70-year-old visiting forces agreement. While a 2018 US Department of Defense report noted that China's most robust anti-access/area-denial capabilities are aimed at this chain, the US Marine Corps began shifting tactics in 2020 to deploy along or near these islands, aiming for three additional Pacific-based regiments by 2021.

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