USMC Anti-Ship Missile Deployment To Highly Strategic Luzon Strait Is Unprecedented
From the Batanes Islands, Naval Strike Missiles would be able to engage any surface vessel transiting the channel between Taiwan and the Philippines.
Tyler Rogoway
Published Apr 21, 2025 4:31 PM EDT
The U.S. Marine Corps is deploying its Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) armed with Naval Strike Missiles into the heart of one of the world’s most strategic and tense bodies of water — the Luzon Strait. It will be the closest to the Chinese mainland that U.S. land-based cruise missiles have been deployed.
The Luzon Strait sits between Taiwan and the Philippines and is roughly 220 miles across at its narrowest point. It is a critical shipping artery and also an incredibly important military conduit, especially for China’s rapidly growing fleet. It’s from here that assets based in the South China Sea can access the Philippine Sea and the greater Pacific, and vice versa. This includes China’s growing fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, some of which provide the country’s second-strike nuclear deterrent. It’s also a key path for the U.S. Navy to access the South China Sea. The stretch of water is also a primary area where a major battle over Taiwan would be fought. As a result, the choke point formed by the strait is very heavily monitored for activity above and below the waves. In a conflict, it will instantly become an anti-ship super missile engagement zone (SMEZ).
A map showing the region in relation to the Luzon Strait. The arrow points to the Batanes Islands that sit in the middle of the strait. Controlled by the Philippines, the NMESIS system and other USMC capabilities are heading there. (Google Earth)
The deployment of the USMC’s new land-based anti-ship missile systems, as well as other assets, including organic ground-based air defenses, will come as part of Exercise Balikatan ’25 — the 40th iteration of the annual drills. The 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR), designed to fight within an enemy’s own watery backyard, will be a key U.S. player in the exercise, which will include some 14,000 personnel, predominantly from the U.S. and Philippine armed forces. Smaller contingents from Australia and Japan will also be taking part, which is a first for the latter country.
https://www.twz.com/air/usmc-anti-ship-missile-deployment-to-highly-strategic-luzon-strait-is-unprecedented
