US must upgrade its naval fleet to compete with China: US Navy official

As Beijing looks to spread its might across the oceans, the Chinese navy has substantial advantages over its US competitor, including a larger fleet and superior shipbuilding capability, according to the commander of the US Navy on Tuesday. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said that China “consistently attempts to violate the maritime sovereignty and economic well-being of other nations including our allies in the South China Sea and elsewhere.”

“They got a larger fleet now so they’re deploying that fleet globally,” he said, adding that the United States must upgrade the US naval fleet in reciprocation. He further added, “We do need a larger Navy, we do need more ships in the future, more modern ships in the future, in particular, that can meet that threat.”

According to the Navy Secretary, the People's Liberation Army Navy of China could field up to 400 ships in the upcoming years, up from around 340 at the moment. The US navy now has fewer than 300 ships.

The US Navy's Navigation Strategy 2022, which was published last summer, states that the Pentagon intends to have 350 manned ships by 2045, which is still far less than the fleet that China is expected to have. However, the US fleet is anticipated to decrease as older ships are retired before that goal is reached, per a November report from the US Congressional Budget Office.

'US naval shipyards can't match the Chinese'

Del Toro asserted on Tuesday that US naval shipyards fall short of Chinese ones in terms of production. It's all about numbers, much like the fleet size. “They have 13 shipyards, in some cases, their shipyard has more capacity – one shipyard has more capacity than all of our shipyards combined. That presents a real threat,” he claimed.

Del Toro did not provide a breakdown of these shipyards, but according to Chinese and Western publications, China has six significant and two minor shipyards that produce naval warships. In the US, seven shipyards build large, deep-draft ships for the US Navy and Coast Guard, according to a Center for National Security report by Brent Sadler dated October.

But no matter how many shipyards there are, they all require people. According to Del Toro, China has an advantage in this area due in large part to the absence of the labor-related limitations, laws, and economic pressures that exist in the US.

Finding skilled personnel is a major issue in the US, he claimed. “[W]hen you have unemployment at less than 4%, it makes it a real challenge whether you’re trying to find workers for a restaurant or you’re trying to find workers for a shipyard,” he said. He added that China is capable of things the US is not.

“They’re a communist country, they don’t have rules by which they abide by,” he said.  “They use slave labor in building their ships, right – that’s not the way we should do business ever, but that’s what we’re up against so it does present a significant advantage,” he further added.

“They script their people to fight, we actually train our people to think,” said the Navy leader

Del Toro provided no evidence to back up the claim of slave labour, and many questioned whether Beijing would use such a strategy. The US Navy has taken moves to close the gap with China, including reassigning more of its fleet to the Pacific and utilising newer, more capable ships in Pacific operations, according to a US Congressional Research Service report from November. And Del Toro claimed on Tuesday that "our people" is still a significant US edge against China.

“In many ways our shipbuilders are better shipbuilders, that’s why we have a more modern, more capable, more lethal Navy than they do,” he said. Del Toro asserted that American military troops have greater improvisational skills as well.

“They script their people to fight, we actually train our people to think,” he said. “There’s a fundamental difference in how we train our Marines and our sailors and our soldiers and our airmen and our Space Force in this country that gives us an inherent advantage over anything the Chinese can put up.”