I think the authors have addressed all the points raised by the reviewers satisfactorily and I would ask them to proceed to the next step and submit their manuscript with the appropriate revisions which I will review.
With regards to using a language editing service, if the authors have a fairly long wait for the McClymont et al. (2020) finalized data, then, by all means, please do so, just in case. However, if the authors are able to finish their manuscript quickly, I would recommend them to submit as soon as possible.

Please refer to the attached PDF file

Dear Christian,

I'm pleased to see the revised version. I don't see any big problems but as there are just a few more minor things that need to be changed, I'm obliged to choose 'Publish subject to technical corrections'. However, there won't be any need to send them back to me for review. I list the recommendations below:

Page 4, Line 16: The word 'here' is in the wrong position. I would write something like 'The COSMOS model employed here is of .....'
Page 12, line 12: 'The rationale'
Page 14, line 10: 'and the Japanese archipelago'
Page 23, line 28: 'as well as for'
Page 34, line 5: 'which aspects' and 'become of' are grammatically wrong. Without changing the sentence too much, you could try something like
'Such analysis may contribute to an estimate, the mid-Pliocene warmth aspects of which may be of relevance in the near or more distant future.'
or '...may become relevant in the...'