Author: R. Alan Harrop, PhD.<\/p>\n
Many military experts believe that if there is a conflict between the U.S. and China, the outcome will be settled by naval forces. Given the location of China, this makes sense, and it may be a repeat of World War II, where our overwhelming naval forces defeated Japan.<\/p>\n
Assuming that this analysis is correct, a comparative assessment of the status of the navies of each country is appropriate. Most authorities believe that the U.S. Navy is still superior to the Chinese navy, but that superiority is shrinking. The Chinese have been rapidly increasing their number of ships over the past ten years. They currently have 340 naval ships compared to 280 in the US Navy. We still have a superiority in large aircraft carriers– eleven compared with China, which now has three. Similarly, we have a greater number of submarines. One area of concern is the rapidly increasing lethality of missiles, especially supersonic types. These missiles will make large aircraft carriers difficult, if not impossible, to defend adequately. In many ways, the aircraft carrier fleet was what allowed us to defeat Japan; whereas, the battleship which was dominant in an earlier era was no longer effective. Could this be the case for aircraft carriers in future conflicts?<\/p>\n
The rate of increase in the Chinese navy should be of concern. Last year, China built 30 new naval vessels while the US built 2. Construction capacity is always a concerning factor. During WWII, the industrial capacity of the United States far exceeded any other country. The US was truly the arsenal of democracy. For example, at the beginning of WWII with the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, both the US and Japan had eight aircraft carriers each. In the next four years, Japan built 18 new carriers (of various sizes) while the US built an astounding 144. China currently has 20 large shipyards that build both naval and merchant craft. The US has only 4 similar shipyards.<\/p>\n
Another area of significant Chinese expansion is their merchant marine fleet. They now own over 50% of merchant shipping in the world, far exceeding the size of the merchant fleets of Japan and South Korea, which are their closest competitors. A large merchant fleet of container ships and tankers not only allows China to ship needed supplies and fuel to combat areas, but provides a large resource of trained seaman if needed for their navy.<\/p>\n
China has also been making a concerted effort to operate and control seaports around the globe. They invest in existing ports and thereby obtain control of those vital stations. For example, the Chinese just made a large financial deal with Belgium which will allow them to dominate the port of Zeebrugge, the second largest port in that country. They are doing this around the world, including the east and west entrances to the Panama Canal, which President Trump recently targeted as an unacceptable threat to the security of the US. Also, even US ports are now using Chinese ship loading and unloading equipment.<\/p>\n
China clearly has plans to dominate the world\u2019s oceans and trade. Finally, we have a President who is willing to recognize and deal with this realty before it is too late.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Author: R. Alan Harrop, PhD. Many military experts believe that if there is a conflict between the U.S. and China, the outcome will be settled by naval forces. Given the location of China, this makes sense, and it may be … Continue reading