Pentagon Report: China Now Has World’s Largest Navy as Beijing Expands Military Influence

US Naval Institute ^ | September 1, 2020 5:31 PM | John Grady

[Retain Mike]

The Chinese Communist Party “has become increasingly confident [of] achieving its goal” of having “a world-class military by 2049.” A key component has been China’s continuing maritime build-up from its surface forces to ballistic missile submarines. He said its fleet numbers 350 warships compared to the United States’ 293.

“I would also draw your attention to weapons systems and it’s important to highlight the Chinese shipbuilding advantages in terms of its size of the fleet, is both in context of the broader modernization ambitions, virtual class military. This is a long-term challenge and it’s not only demarcated by a single variable, which would be total number of vessels, tonnage capacity, capabilities, location, posture, activities, and then other aspects,” he told a small group of reporters in a Pentagon briefing.

Sbragia said the Pentagon expects the Chinese fleet will number 360 warships by the end of this decade.

He added in the AEI forum that Beijing with its new confidence has become “more assertive” in its territorial disputes with its neighbors — from India to Taiwan to the South China Sea.

[Retain Mike]

For the last few years now there have been reports to Congress about the progress the PRC has made to develop its armed forces. The below report is the most comprehensive I have seen and the first I have seen in which they are reported to have a larger Navy than ours. You can change the text size, so you can read it.

By the way, how come there has been is so much focus on Russia, which has such a limited, natural resource economy, and so little on China, which produces an enormous number of products other people will buy?

[Soul of the South]

I can remember when one of the key tenants of US defense policy was to maintain at least a 400 ship navy.

[Dr. Zzyzx]

Seems that if they’re at 350, and we’re at 293, they’ve had the largest navy for quite some time now,

[Seruzawa]

Yes, but how many ships of what class? China has lots of patrol size craft. Good for coastal waters. But their ability to send the Navy across the ocean to attack anyone is severely limited. Not enough support/logistics. Of course that will change.

We will have one advantage. We won’t have a slave Army.

[baclava]

They have 2 carriers, we have 11 nuclear carriers w/battle groups.

I imagine their numbers come from gunboats, coastal patrol ships, I aint askeered.I

Or maybe could be Pentagon sniffing around for more budget, ‘We Need More Toyz admirals’, lol

[BobL]

Doesn’t matter, we spend twice as much on our military as China. Therefore we are INVINCIBLE!

[Retain Mike]

I’m not going endure the agony of a 200 page report, but chapter three got my attention when they noted their navy has an underway replenishment capability similar to our AOE’s.

[neefer]

And are they built by the Chinese? Ten days after the warranty expires, they’ll stop working and sink.

[bravo whiskey]

Admiral Cunningham talking about his fleet going into Crete to evacuate soldiers in the face of German air superiority.
“It takes 3 years to build a ship. It takes 300 years to build a tradition.”

[daniel1212]

They have 2 carriers, we have 11 nuclear carriers w/battle groups.

And how many shipyards can repair such now and in a war? And how dependent are such upon Chinese parts? The industrial capacity of the US has long been surpassed by China.

[sergeantdave]

Another “China is Superman” report from the Romney wing of the moldering dead McCain party.

[MSF BU]

What is a slave army?

[SuperLuminal]

Yeah! But the U.S. has the highest rate in the world of diversity, perversity, collisions, and pregnancy on it’s ships...

Take that you chicom scum! You’ll never catch up to us...