The numbers game: why the US is losing ground to China in the first island chain

As the People’s Liberation Army marks its 99th anniversary on August 1, one year from the deadline for its centenary goals, its evolution highlights the past, present and future of China’s military strategy. In the second part of a series, Gabriel Dominguez examines how Beijing is pushing the envelope on its near-seas island arc.Beijing has urged the People’s Liberation Army to transform into a “world-class military” by the mid-21st century, intent on piercing US-led chokepoints along an arc of islands extending from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines.Known as the First Island Chain, they underpin a US-aligned security architecture that Chinese strategists see as both a constraint on the PLA’s freedom to manoeuvre in a conflict and the likeliest entry route for US and allied forces in a regional crisis.