Head of US Marines Pacific to bolster defense in south Japan

The head of the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific said Friday that his forces are committed to defending southwestern Japanese islands as the allies try to bolster their defenses amid growing threats from China and Russia.

Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder said at the beginning of talks with Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi that the U.S. Marine presence is focused on the so-called first island chain in the western Pacific — the string of islands stretching from Japan's East China Sea islands through the Philippines that has traditionally defined a boundary of China's sphere of influence, which Beijing now appears to be pushing eastward.