The United States plans to shake up its marine force on Japan's Okinawa islands as Tokyo undertakes its biggest military build up since World War Two that will double defence spending over five years to deter China from attacking Taiwan or nearby Japanese islands.
Japan and the United States want 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.
