Sounds Like Mahan To Me

The United States is the worlds most top naval power. No one disputes this today. With that said, we watch the trends, and this is the big news on Monday out in China.

China, if measured by the number of ships it produces and the number of orders it receives for such vessels, is the foremost shipbuilder in the world.
Still, the country needs more time to become a real superpower in the shipbuilding industry, said a senior industry official.

China became the foremost shipbuilder in the world in 2010 and aims to become the builder of the most advanced ships by 2015, Li Dong, vice-director of equipment industry department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told a press conference on Saturday.

In 2010, China built ships with a total deadweight capacity of 65.6 million tons, accounting for 43 percent of the deadweight capacity of ships built in the world, he said.

In the same year, China received orders for the construction of ships with a total deadweight capacity of 75.2 million tons, making up 54 percent of the new orders in the world.

Also in 2010, the country was trying to catch up with unfulfilled orders for ships with 195.9 million tons of deadweight capacity, accounting for 41 percent of the unfulfilled orders for ships in the world.

Very Mahan. Sea power is more than naval power, it must also include the maritime power of trade and commerce by sea. China is now the worlds top maritime power, because they not only build the most ships but that stacks on top of the remarkable number of Chinese flagged vessels involved in trade and commerce by sea. I have read a fair number of books that discuss the links between maritime power and naval power, and my only thought today is that the Chinese leadership have probably read those same books.

And the US political leadership? I doubt it.

The US shipbuilding sector is not competitive in the global market, and there are fewer than 100 total US flagged ships engaged in commerce and trade sailing the worlds oceans, almost all of which are government charters. Almost all of our trade comes by sea, 90% if you believe the Navy. Less than 1% is delivered on US flagged vessels, and less than 1% of the ships delivering goods were built in the US.