Is EABO about warfighting or deterrence?

From the 2019 USMC Aviation Plan 

EABO is a future naval operational concept that mitigates peer competitors’ anti-access/area-denial capability by creating a more survivable, resilient, and persistent forward-postured force. The EABO concept is designed to re-establish the force credibility required to have a deterrent effect. Using key maritime terrain in the vicinity of close and confined seas, EABO provides decision-makers with sea denial options that are coercive, but not escalatory

Have we all missed something?

Is this plan all about deterrence and not actual combat?  Is the Commandant of the Marine Corps actually designing a force that isn't designed to fight and win but rather to act as a trip wire...a modern day Maginot Line in the Pacific? 

Question.

What happens to Fleet Marine Forces if the Chinese decide they're NOT going to be deterred?