THE SOUTH EAST ASIA INSTABILITY GROWS TO BE THE NEXT BATTLE GROUND FOR THE MARINES TO OVERCOME ONCE AGAIN AS LEADERS JOSTLE ITS LONG TIME ALLEGIANCE FROM THE PHILLIPPINES TO THAILAND TO NORTH KOREA HATE FOR THE USA AS COMMUNIST CHINA STIRS THE POT OF TURMOIL

With uncertain new leadership in allied countries and the sabre-rattling of hostile states growing louder, Marines in the Pacific are being prepared for a coming conflict, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Division said this week.
Speaking at Marine Corps Association's Ground Dinner near Washington, D.C., Thursday night, Maj. Gen. Richard Simcock made a plea for more amphibious ships in the region and increased collaboration with the Navy as the region braces anticipates a future that may include a confrontation or contingency involving a powerful regional competitor.
"The fight that's coming, we're not going to be able to get a hodgepodge, hillbilly organization and just throw three [Marine Expeditionary Units] together and say that's a [Marine Expeditionary Brigade] and we can land the landing force," he said. "We're not training with our Navy brethren; we're not doing the things that are going to carry us to victory in the fight that is clearly coming out of the Pacific. Those are the biggest issues that I deal with right now."
Recent upheavals in the region, he said, included the death in October of the 88-year-old king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, a beloved ruler who leaves an uncertain political future in his son, the crown prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. Meanwhile, the newly elected Philippine president, Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in June, has repeatedly made headlines with his hostility toward the U.S. and insults and rebukes to President Barack Obama.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/11/18/general-pacific-grows-unstable-fight-coming.html