After the Chinese Navy surpassed the U.S. Navy in terms of overall number of ships, a congressional report suggests the number advantage could soon be matched with technological parity with the U.S. The U.S. Congressional Research Service report suggests the U.S. is seeing its technological advantage rapidly disappear.
The Chinese are in agreement, with the director of the a Beijing-based think tank group, Hu Bo, claiming “both sides have essentially come to a balance of power in military presence in the West Pacific.”
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Excerpt from amp.scmp.com
According to the Pentagon, the Chinese navy has surpassed the US navy in terms of the number of battle force ships over the past decade, thanks to China’s status as the world’s top ship-producing nation by tonnage.
A US Congressional Research Service report released in October of last year predicted the PLA would have 440 ships by 2030 while the US will have 290.
Senior US Air Force officials have also noted the PLA’s potential to become the world’s biggest air force. It now has over 3,150 non-trainer and non-drone aircraft, compared with about 4,000 for the American military.
While China continues to catch up on air and sea capabilities, “both sides have essentially come to a balance of power in military presence in the West Pacific”, said Hu Bo, director of Beijing-based think tank South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative.