PROVIDING FOR CONGRESSIONAL DISAPPROVAL UNDER CHAPTER 8 OF TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE, OF THE RULE SUBMITTED BY THE UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE RELATING TO "ENDANGERED AND THREATENED...
Roger F. Wicker (Republican, MS) \u2014 2023-5-3

I come before the Senate this afternoon to discuss the U.S. Navy's ability to deter conflict in the Pacific. As China's navy has grown, ours has shrunk, and we are running out of time to tilt the balance of power back toward the United States and ensure that deterrence does not fail in the Western Pacific. prgtoken For centuries, American naval power has proven the decisive factor in our security and prosperity. The U.S. Navy secured our victory in the American Revolution during the 18th century. It enabled our transformation into a world power in the 19th century. It defeated adversaries in two world wars in the 20th century, and it will decide our success or failure this century. prgtoken China's rising strength on the seas is a direct threat to international peace and security. Their ability to exercise total control of the major sea lanes strikes at the heart of free and market- based economies in Asia and around the globe. For a few minutes today, I will outline the threat, our lack of preparedness, and what it will take for us to deter China from acting in an irresponsible way. prgtoken The Chinese Communist Party understands a truth that 19th century American CAPT Alfred Thayer Mahan summarized when he said, ``Whoever rules the waves rules the world.'' Beijing knows a great navy is a necessary step in their march for regional dominance. prgtoken And so, while our own shipyards were closing and downsizing and our shipbuilding budgets shrank, China went to sea. prgtoken According to the Secretary of the Navy, China has more shipbuilding capacity in just one shipyard than we have in our entire industrial base. By the end of this decade, China is expected to have a fleet of 440 warships. If the Navy's latest 30-year shipbuilding plan is a guide, we would have only 290. Of course, the statutory requirement enacted by the Congress and signed by the President of the United States is 355. prgtoken A Chinese navy of the size I mentioned--440--and a strength relative to our own directly endangers our partner Taiwan, our allies in Japan and in the Philippines, and our military bases in the Pacific. More Chinese ships means more sea-based Chinese vertical launch cells-- missile delivery systems, which are the primary offensive tool of any navy. A recent analysis found Beijing has more vertical launch cells than the United States and our allies combined. Those cells, in addition to China's extensive sensing capabilities on the ground and in space, increase their advantage in the Western Pacific as our Navy plays an away game far from home. prgtoken These troubling facts demand a decisive response. Yet our Navy has failed to keep up. The Department of Defense recently delivered another 30-year shipbuilding plan that fails to meet Congress's requirement. Their plan contains three building options, only one of which would grow the fleet to prgtoken the legally required battle force size of 355 ships. Even t