Island chain strategy
The island chain strategy is a strategic maritime containment plan first conceived by American foreign policy statesman John Foster Dulles in 1951, during the Korean War.[1] It proposed surrounding the Soviet Union and China with naval bases in the West Pacific to project power and restrict sea access.[2]
The "island chain" concept did not become a major theme in
First Island Chain
The First Island Chain is defined as the chain of islands that begins at the
The First Island Chain was conceptualized during the
Second Island Chain
The Second Island Chain can refer to two different interpretations, but the version most commonly used refers to the island chain which is formed by Japan's
As it is located within the middle portion of the West Pacific, it acts as a second strategic defense line for the United States.[1]
Third Island Chain
The Third Island Chain is the final part of the strategy. This island chain begins at the Aleutian Islands and runs south across the center of the Pacific Ocean towards Oceania, through the Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa and Fiji, to reach New Zealand.[1] Australia serves as the staple between the second and third chains.
Proposed Fourth and Fifth Island Chains
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI), a group under the Center for Strategic and International Studies, argues that a fourth and a fifth island chain should be added to an overall understanding of Chinese maritime strategy in the Indo-Pacific. Whereas the first three island chains are located in the Pacific Ocean, these two newly proposed ones are in the Indian Ocean, which would reflect the growing Chinese interest in the region.
The proposed fourth chain would include places like
Target and events
The primary target of the doctrine was originally the