A Shrinking U.S. Navy

"Long gone are the days of the 800-ship U.S. Navy.

Even the 700-ship Navy of the 1980s is but a distant memory.

What are the current capabilities and goals of today's U.S. military?

Not 600. Not 500. Not 400.

In fact, while the Navy says it now needs no more than 325 ships to maintain U.S. security interests around the world, the fact of the matter is that it is more likely to be attempting to do the job with as few as 260, according to Admiral Vernon Clark, the chief of naval operations.

While the U.S. naval fleet is shrinking and attention is focused on the Middle East and other parts of the world, China is building its military at an increased pace. The Chinese military is the only Navy being developed anywhere in the world today that is being configured specifically to match that of the U.S. China’s shipbuilding is growing. Just one of their shipyards matches the capacity of all American shipyards combined, and the Chinese fleet will surpass the size of the U.S. fleet by 2015, assuming the U.S. builds six ships a year (a level not met in recent years. This year, the U.S. is building just four.

The Chinese are capable of producing the components, systems and weapons they need. Additionally, China is seeking greater military technology as the restrictions on military trade set to expire with Europe."