TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The American and Japanese militaries are integrating their command structure and increasing the scope of combined operations in preparation for a possible military conflict with China over Taiwan, the Financial Times reported.

Lieutenant General James Bierman, commanding general of the Third Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) and of Marine Forces Japan, told the outlet the U.S. and its Asian allies were using the groundwork that allowed western countries to support Ukraine against Russia in preparing for possible conflicts such as a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Part of the reason for Ukraine’s current success has to do with the U.S. using Russian aggression in 2014 and 2015 to prepare for future conflict by training Ukranians, pre-positioning supplies, and identifying sites that could be used for support to sustain operations, Bierman said. “We call that setting the theater. And we are setting the theater in Japan, in the Philippines, in other locations,” the Financial Times cited Bierman as saying.

III MEF is the Marine Corps’ only crisis response force permanently stationed outside of America, the report noted. It is part of the Marine Corps goal to transition from fighting in the Middle East to forming small units that operate quickly and out of sight in the islands and straits of East Asia and the western Pacific in response to China’s “anti-access area denial” strategy, the Financial Times said.

For this transition to work, the U.S. needs closer integration with its allies, according to Bierman. During recent military drills, the Marines for the first time established bilateral ground tactical coordination centers instead of exchanging liaisons with allies’ command points, the report said.

In addition, selected Japanese military units have been assigned as part of the “stand-in force” beside III MEF and U.S. Navy and Air Force units, per the report. Rather than rotating the Japanese military units working with American counterparts as was previously done, a “standing community of interest” is being established with allied units with responsibility for operational plans, Bierman told the Financial Times.

Bierman also noted that the U.S. military continues to track Chinese military movements around Taiwan. “When you talk about the complexity, the size of some of the operations they would have to conduct, let’s say an invasion of Taiwan, there will be indications and warnings, and there are specific aspects to that in terms of geography and time, which allow us to posture and be most prepared,” he added.

The preparations include a plan by the Philippines to allow American forces to move weapons and other supplies to five more bases in addition to five where the U.S. already has access, the Financial Times noted.

Moves by the U.S. and its allies come amid an ever-increasing military aggression from China directed toward Taiwan. On Monday (Jan. 9), Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it detected 57 Chinese military aircraft and four naval ships around the country over a 24-hour period.