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China’s declaration of an air defense identification zone over Japanese-administered waters in the East China Sea and confrontation with an American guided missile cruiser is a useful reminder of China’s growing naval strength.
In a recently released report, The Heritage Foundation noted that China’s navy is by far the largest in Asia, with 77 principal surface combatants and 65 submarines.
In the meantime, although currently larger than the Chinese navy, the U.S. Navy continues to shrink in the number of deployable ships and ready crews. If China continues to ramp up its naval aggression in the East and South China Seas, threatening American allies and ultimately laying claims to resources and commerce in those waters essential to the global economy, there could be serious implications for the U.S.