Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) warned Tuesday in an op-ed that China is on a “fast track” to become the world’s dominant naval power if the United States does not spend more on ship building.
Rubio, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in an op-ed published in Defense News that China is on track to have more than 440 ships in five years, while the U.S. Navy is on track to have 291.
Sea power is essential to countering communist Chinahttps://t.co/njDdL3FE5q pic.twitter.com/apI058TfSS
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“In other words, China is on a fast track to displace America as the world’s dominant naval power,” he wrote, calling the U.S. “woefully underprepared.”
“Too few people fully understand or appreciate the fact that our ships do more than defend allies and partners from invasion; they also guarantee freedom of navigation on the open seas,” he said.
“For…
