First island chain

<p>The first island chain is the first string of major <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific</a> <a href="/facts/Archipelago/50BeC9tl">archipelagos</a> out from the <a href="/facts/East_Asia/D8yGVCQX">East Asian</a> continental mainland coast. It is principally composed of the <a href="/facts/Kuril_Islands/HBRsFdgN">Kuril Islands</a>, the <a href="/facts/Japanese_Archipelago/zvCaDa4M">Japanese archipelago</a>, the <a href="/facts/Ryukyu_Islands/94rjkv8f">Ryukyu Islands</a>, <a href="/facts/Taiwan/VcJoUD8w">Taiwan</a> (<a href="/facts/Formosa/4BtYR5Hh">Formosa</a>), the northern <a href="/facts/Philippines/ARpmxXQV">Philippines</a>, and <a href="/facts/Borneo/1aIGfyvV">Borneo</a>, hence extending all the way from the <a href="/facts/Kamchatka_Peninsula/w9DK3jE6">Kamchatka Peninsula</a> in the northeast to the <a href="/facts/Malay_Peninsula/BrBger2u">Malay Peninsula</a> in the southwest. The first island chain forms one of three island chain doctrines within the <a href="/facts/Island_chain_strategy/k7JFzxnD">island chain strategy</a> in the <a href="/facts/Foreign_policy_of_the_United_States/LqGcw96t">U.S. foreign policy</a>.
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<p>Much of the first island chain is roughly situated in waters claimed by the <a href="/facts/People%27s_Republic_of_China/lTjIXY5p">People's Republic of China</a> (PRC). These include the <a href="/facts/South_China_Sea/WRFXLgIg">South China Sea</a>, within the <a href="/facts/Nine-dash_line/4JljXCcE">nine-dash line</a>, as well as the <a href="/facts/East_China_Sea/LpC6wxIu">East China Sea</a> west of the <a href="/facts/Okinawa_Trough/SPRIPYED">Okinawa Trough</a>.
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First island chain open-in-new

First island chain