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Over 750 Military Bases Across 80 Countries: How US Military Overshadows China In Projecting Power Overseas

The withdrawal of the remaining US military personnel from the Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul on August 31, 2021, officially marked the end of a two-decade-long American military intervention in Afghanistan.

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The Pentagon recorded that 800,000 American troops had served in its “war on terror” in Afghanistan. At the peak of US military operations in 2011, there were 100,000 American soldiers operating from 10 military bases, spanning from the Bagram airbase to Kandahar.

With the American strategic focus now being shifted towards the Indo-Pacific with the ‘aim to tame’ China, US armed forces are aggressively weaponizing the Asia-Pacific which is slowly becoming the global epicenter of the next big conflict.

The US military has historically remained an expeditionary force, which resulted in the setting up of overseas bases. According to David Vine, a professor of political anthropology at the American University, Washington DC, the US military operates over 750 overseas bases spread across 80 countries.

Compared to the US’ massive global military presence, China only operates one military base in Djibouti. The US Africa Commander believes that the Chinese naval base is large enough to support aircraft carriers, which has raised anxieties in Washington.

US President Joe Biden recently stated that US forces will continue to engage the enemy from “over the horizon” by carrying out airstrikes through America’s expansive network of military bases.




Bargam-airbase
US troops leave the Bargam airbase in Afghanistan, in July 2021. (via Twitter)

Japan, which neighbors China hosts the maximum number of US military bases/defense facilities. Over 53,000 US troops operate from 120 military bases in the Asian nation.

The island of Okinawa alone accounts for 62% of all US bases in Japan and covers 25% of the entire island. Futenma, Kadena, Hansen, Torii, Schwab, Foster, and Kinser are some major military bases on the island.

South Korea, another neighbor of China houses 73 US military bases with around 26,400 US soldiers and allied staff stationed there.

Some prominent American military facilities in South Korea are Camp Humphreys, located in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul; Army Garrison Yongsan in central Seoul, Camp Walker in the southeastern city of Daegu, and two air bases in Osan and Gunsan, south of Seoul.

Germany hosts 119 US military bases, housing around 33,900 US troops. The iconic Ramstein Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, a state in southwestern Germany, is a particularly strategic American defense establishment in Germany.

This facility was reportedly used to carry out US drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Somalia. US bases in Japan and South Korea may be of particular importance within Washington’s new strategic framework in the Indo-Pacific to contain Chinese expansion.

How US Military Bases Are Classified

Overseas US military bases are divided into two distinct categories: ‘Bases’ and ‘Lily Pads.’

‘Bases’ consist of military facilities which are over 10 acres in size or cost over $10 million, while ‘Lily Pads’ are establishments lower than these stipulated ranges.

Over 60% of America’s overseas military facilities are designated as ‘Bases’ and can house over 200 troops. The remaining number of these establishments are ‘Lily Pads.’

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