“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”—George Orwell, 1984.
A recent news release claimed that China now has more naval ships
than the United States. While this is true, the United States still has
an advantage over China in global sea power. China is now the world’s
leading naval ship builder, but most of the People’s Liberation Navy’s
new ships are smaller coastal defense ships. Although smaller and
shorter range, they are equipped with the latest technology in radar and
cruise missiles. In terms of firepower as reflected in naval tonnage,
the Chinese Navy has 2.0 million tons, whereas the U.S. Navy has 4.8
million tons and still has technological superiority.
The U.S. is still the world’s foremost sea power, but China is
coming up fast and extending the size, flexibility, and range of surface
ships. China now has at least 77 destroyer and cruiser class surface
ships, and their latest ship-launched missiles have a range of 4,000
nautical miles, capable of striking Hawaii, Alaska, and the Western U.S.
coast. The U.S. has 85 destroyers and cruisers with generally greater
firepower. The Chinese also now have two aircraft carriers, although
this is not competitive with 11 U.S. carriers, more aircraft carriers
than the rest of the world combined. China has 60 submarines, of which
most are diesel, but they are building more nuclear attack and missile
subs. About 85 percent of the Chinese Navy fleet is modern. The U.S. has
52 nuclear attack and 18 nuclear missile submarines, the latter
carrying the majority of American nuclear strike power.
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