PLA is “developing power projection capabilities and concepts of operation in order to conduct offensive operations within the second island chain, in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and in some cases, globally.”

 

This by @roderick_s_lee is (as usual) very informative on #PLAN developing their far seas capabilities: "The PLA Navy’s #ZHANLAN Training Series: Supporting Offensive Strike on the High Seas". https://t.co/pxboPjpNbe pic.twitter.com/51ktLtEYBO

— Alex Luck (@AlexLuck9) May 8, 2021

Follow the link and read the article but this part stood out to me...

 The Department of Defense (DOD) already acknowledges in its China Military Power Report that the PLA is “developing power projection capabilities and concepts of operation in order to conduct offensive operations within the second island chain, in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and in some cases, globally.” [25] ZHANLAN-2020A demonstrates that the PLA is probably closer to operationalizing those capabilities and concepts than some DOD officials are comfortable with acknowledging. The evidence from ZHANLAN and other training evolutions suggests that the PLA Navy is making significant progress in joint operations, damage control, logistics, and intelligence—to the extent that they may soon be able to operate on the doorstep of U.S. Navy port facilities in wartime.

If China becomes a global competitor and is able to operate effectively in 2nd and 3rd island chain (not to mention moves in Africa, S. America and the Caribbean) then all bets are off. 

The terrible thing is that we can't spend our way out of this mess.  Unless we radically change our NAVY and our INDUSTRY then we're behind the power curve and can't catch up.

Tinkering at the edges with the Marine Corps force structure will not save the Navy from the problem they're facing.