First island chain

The first island chain refers to the first chain of major Pacific archipelagos out from the East Asian continental mainland coast. It is principally composed of the Kuril Islands, the Japanese archipelago, the Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan (Formosa), the northern Philippines, and Borneo, hence extending all the way from the Kamchatka Peninsula in the northeast to the Malay Peninsula in the southwest. The first island chain forms one of three island chain doctrines within the island chain strategy in the U.S. foreign policy.^[1]^[2]

Much of the first island chain is roughly situated in waters claimed by China.^[3] These include the South China Sea, within the nine-dash line, as well as the East China Sea west of the Okinawa Trough.

^ Vorndick, Wilson (October 22, 2018). "CHINA'S REACH HAS GROWN; SO SHOULD THE ISLAND CHAINS". Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
^ "How the Pentagon thinks about America's strategy in the Pacific". The Economist. June 15, 2023. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
^ Holmes, James R.; Yoshihara, Toshi (2012-09-10). Chinese Naval Strategy in the 21st Century: The Turn to Mahan. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-98176-1. OCLC 811506562.