America has fallen way behind China when it comes to shipbuilding. The current declining trajectory of the U.S. Navy’s fleet size endangers our national security. We have allowed China to become the world leader in an industry which is critical to naval power and maritime security. America must reinvigorate its public and private shipbuilding capacity immediately. If we do not, China will no doubt make good on its threat to invade Taiwan, and the PLA Navy will control the South China Sea, dominate the waters in the first island chain, and challenge the U.S. and its allies worldwide.
As the former national-security adviser, I can state unequivocally that our diminished domestic shipbuilding capacity is a national-security crisis. Given the stakes, the Biden administration, the GOP House, and senators from both parties should pursue a bipartisan deal to make American shipbuilding competitive again and reverse the decline in the U.S. Navy’s fleet size. The future of a free and open Indo-Pacific is at stake.
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