MacArthur desired to liberate the Philippines, but the issue would be decided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington. Forces under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz conducted a drive in the Central Pacific that by the summer of 1944 culminated with the seizure of the strategically crucial Mariana Islands. By that time, MacArthur’s forces had taken key points along the northern coast of New Guinea and had conquered the Admiralty Islands, isolating the major Japanese air and naval base at Rabaul. The question for the JCS was what to do once these operations concluded. The major objective would be bounded by Luzon, Formosa, and the China coast, with an invasion of Formosa initially seen as key to the defeat of Japan. MacArthur naturally viewed Luzon as the primary objective, while Admiral Ernest King in Washington and Admiral Nimitz in Hawaii looked towards Formosa. This disparity set off a storm of messages, planning, and controversy from March through September 1944 until the JCS finally decided the issue by deferring the invasion of Formosa and agreeing to allow MacArthur to liberate both Leyte and Luzon and the capital city, Manila.