Asia / China / History / Japan / Philippines / Regime Change / Taiwan / United States / War

Marine Corps Prototype SLV Landing Ship To Operate Near Contested Asian Waters

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Marine Corps’ Light Amphibious Warship…Is It the Next Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)?.

Marine Corps Prototype SLV Landing Ship To Operate Near Contested Asian Waters

Gidget Fuentes, reporting for USNI News, noted the first SLV’s arrival on the West Coast, and highlighted future plans, writing “the vessel will head to Hawaii and then onto Japan, where it’s expected to support the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment.

This is fascinating news for both China-watchers and island-hopping Marine Corps strategists, as the SLV could make the South China Sea a far more interesting place.

…

As a simple, robust mobile platform, an SLV is an ideal means to help the Philippines reinforce their presence at contested atolls in the South China Sea or elsewhere. Capable of supporting some fifty passengers, the platform can serve as an instant mobile base, complicating China’s efforts to maintain a blockade.

A tough, stable ship, complete with lots of angry-looking projections, blockading Chinese patrol craft will think twice before approaching to shoulder the vessel or attempting to ram it.

As an American vessel, the HOS Resolution could certainly join in on some big, multilateral exercises off Ayungin Shoal (or, as known to Americans, the Second Thomas Shoal), working to support Filipino Marines aboard their decaying base, the BRP Sierra Madre, a long-grounded World War II-era tank landing ship, or LST.

There’s a good chance the HOS Resolution may stay out in Asian waters. It is too old to serve again as an old-school workboat. As an aging platform—and a thoroughly civilianized one at that—it could, after the Marine Corps charter ends, be easily transferred to the Philippines. As surplus, it might be a perfect gift for the troubled region.

The Marine Corps is wasting little time. With American Marines already reportedly racing to test “with the Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aerial System, or TRUAS, a 150-pound drone-like unmanned aircraft,” the Marine Corps is well on their way in testing new tools and new doctrine for, say, future Atoll Support/Help Operation Lift Endeavors. Promptly extending the platform—and any operational lessons learned—to friends and allies in Asia is a natural progression for this interesting experimental vessel.