MAGA Leader Steve Bannon Says ‘1st Island Chain’ Set by China Is Major Strategic Focus for U.S., in Interview

Steve Bannon

6:00 JST, July 30, 2025

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s former close aide Steve Bannon told The Yomiuri Shimbun that the United States should not intervene in the affairs of Europe and the Middle East. Bannon, who is referred to by CNN as the leader of the president’s Make America Great Again movement, also said the area that the Chinese military calls the “first island chain,” which includes Japan and Taiwan, is a major strategic focus for the United States, and efforts should be made to deny China’s influence.

The first military strategic defense line stretches from the East China Sea south of Kyushu to the Philippines and the South China Sea. The Chinese military regards the area from the Ogasawara Islands to Saipan and Guam as the “second island chain.”

China set the lines to prevent U.S. military intervention in the event of contingencies in the Taiwan Strait and other areas.

The MAGA movement is led by Trump’s core supporters who are known for their restrictive stance on U.S. intervention in other countries.

“We’re adamantly opposed to the Ukraine war because it’s on the Eurasian landmass where we have no vital national security interest,” Bannon said during a phone interview. He added that Ukraine is “trying to inexorably get us drawn into that war.”

Regarding the situation in the Middle East, he said: “We’re so opposed to a regime change war in the Middle East really conjured up by Israel…. The United States will be sucked in for 25 years.”

Drawing on the experiences of the United States’ military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, which turned into quagmires, Bannon appeared to believe that Washington should avoid being forced to bear long-term burdens through the involvements.

In contrast, Bannon demonstrated strong hostility toward China.

Bannon served as an officer of the U.S. Navy 7th Fleet from 1977 to 1980 and engaged in the patrolling of the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

He said he thinks the possibility is high that China will invade Taiwan in 2027, when Beijing is said to be aiming to acquire the capability to invade Taiwan.

“I think 2027 is a very dangerous year unless Japan, the United States and [South] Korea start acting in unison as allies,” he said.

While stating that the United States should withdraw from large-scale military deployments in Eurasia, he emphasized the country should have expeditionary force capabilities. He said that the capability to end combat quickly “is the type of thing that we want our money to go into.”

Regarding Trump’s strategy toward Russia, Bannon said it was to do the reverse of what former U.S. President Richard Nixon did, when he normalized the United States’ diplomatic relations with China to hold in check the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Bannon believes that Trump is focused on getting a rapprochement with Russia despite his frustration with Moscow. He said it is important to pull Russia out of China’s orbit. “If the United States is not successful at that, we’re going to have a century of conflict,” he said. Bannon said the United States will face even greater challenges if China and Russia become closer.

Bannon said that he shares these views with Trump.

Regarding policy toward China, Bannon said: “I’m full on for decoupling immediately [from the Chinese economy]. And then, let the Chinese people do the work of overthrowing them.” However, he said that Trump does not support this policy.

In Yomiuri Shimbun Interview, Bannon Says U.S. Should Intervene in Taiwan Contingency; Former Trump Adviser Supports Intervention to Protect Chip