Chinese carrier development is tied to creating defensive depth around the first and potentially second island chains. Like great walls, island fortifications restrict access and shape an attack, but they cannot seal a maritime frontier on their own. Japan's World War II island positions were intended to hold an attacker in place until the fleet could counterattack from another direction. Once Japanese carrier aviation and fleet strength had been broken, those islands became isolated and untenable. A garrison without mobile support can still buy time, but it does so by accepting encirclement, blockade, and eventual loss.
Notable Point · 53:19-55:42
Island chains need a fleet behind their fortifications
Fixed island positions can delay and channel an enemy, but without mobile naval support they can be isolated, blockaded, and defeated.