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Calvin Smith
Mr. Bradley
Government 2
25 October 2016
A Threat To Our Navy
Although the United States has the strongest armed forces in the world, some particular
branches of the military are declining. The United States Navy has been steadily weakening
throughout recent years. The number of active ships the military has does not nearly come close
to the amount the U.S. had active during 1945, and more recently, both the number of ships that
are active and in military reserves is still falling. A solution to fixing the issue of a weakening
Navy is to increase the funding towards the specific branch, in order to reestablish the nations
dominance on the oceanfront. Other powerful nations, such as China and Russia, are currently on
the uprise in terms of naval power and are capable of being a serious threat to our nations
security. As a nation, it is important that we increase the funding towards the United States naval
fleet because our current Navy is declining in size, opposing nations are improving their current
naval technology and production which we need to match, and it is an added security to our
nations boundaries along with our allies boundaries.
The current amount of ships within the United States Navy doesn't nearly compare to the
amount of ships we had during the peak of the Navy in 1945, during the end of World War II.
Although we are in different circumstances so the amount of ships we have does not need to be
equivalent or even remotely close to that number, it is significant that our Navy has been
declining rapidly over the past thirty years. One article states, The U.S. fleet is less than half its

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size at the close of the Reagan administration nearly 30 years ago ("S.O.S for a Declining
American Navy"). Putting that figure into perspective and estimating the amount of ships the
Navy has active, The U.S had over six hundred ships and currently has less than three hundred.
Even more recently and to a more pinpoint representation of how many ships we have, during
the last fifteen years, that amount has fallen even lower. It is said that, On Sept. 11, 2001, our
fleet stood at 316 ships. Fewer than eight years later, despite one of the great military build-ups
in American history, the fleet had declined to 278 ships ("Secretary of Navy: Why Our Fleet Is
Growing After Years of Decline"). The majority of Earth is covered with water, and with less
ships, we are eliminating the efficiency and power that we once had in the oceans. The article
also states, The Navyafter nearly $1 trillion of Defense Department cuts, in part mandated by
the 2011 budget-sequestration deal between Congress and the Obama administrationis already
down to 272 ships ("S.O.S for a Declining American Navy"). Clearly at this rapid rate, the
Navy is weakening and could prove to be less effective as it once was against foreign powers.
With the U.S Navy proving to be less prominent as it used to be, it gives other nations,
such as China and Russia, the opportunity to take advantage of this period of decline and use it to
advance their naval technologies and power. Statistics have shown that these two countries
specifically have been increasing their funds and raising interest in new technological advances
to help them gain an advantage in the ocean. Evidence has proven that, the militaries of China,
India, South Korea, and Japan are modernizing, and Russia has maintained and subsidized its
military research-and- development base by selling weapons to China and others (America's
Elegant Decline). With the modernization and industrialization of these countries, national pride
and confidence is built within them and the possibility of an attack becomes a more realistic

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option for countries that are known to have weaker military programs. Many of these countries
have noticed that the U.S.s Navy is becoming the weak point of our defense and are strategizing
to use it as an advantage for political advancements. An instance where this can be demonstrated
is that, China is pursuing a missile-centric strategy with the purpose of holding U.S. aircraft
carriers at high risk if they operate in Chinas near seas and thereby hinder their access to those
waters in the event of a crisis (Report: Chinese Navy's Fleet Will Outnumber U.S. by 2020).
The Chinese naval defense is already targeting U.S. aircraft carriers in order to have that
militaristic advantage. They are limiting the foreign affairs of the United States by targeting
them. China looks to continue increasing naval power by raising funds towards their military.
Statistically their military spending from 2013 to 2014 increased by over twelve percent and
raised to approximately 131 billion dollars ("Report: Chinese Navy's Fleet Will Outnumber U.S.
by 2020"). The reason they would have that kind of substantial increase in funding in such a
short amount of time is because they are under the belief that the United States is weakening and
that if they increase their military efforts, they grasp the capability of becoming the worlds
leader in military defenses. Along with the incline in Chinas military spending and efforts,
Russia has been increasing their naval power as well. It is said that they have been constructing
and deploying highly sophisticated stealthy hybrid diesel-electric submarines. Along with that
they have also been developing other advancements for their military like, coastal radars which
could be used to cue K-300P Bastion-P shore-based mobile anti-ship missile batteries that can
launch Mach 2.5+ supersonic sea-skimming P-800 Oniks missiles at targets as far as 300
kilometers (186 miles) away ("Biggest Threat US Navy and NATO Face: Russian Subs and
A2/AD Bastions.") Simultaneous Chinese and Russian naval expansion opens the door to serious

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problems for the United States Navy if funding is not increased. This could prove to be a
potential threat to the current ships that are deployed in other areas of the world and to various
boundaries set by the United States.
The U.S. is involved with many foreign affairs involving the protection of countries
boundaries. If the military budget continues to decline, including the budget for the Navy, it puts
the nation at risk as well as the other nations we are formally protecting. It is estimated that,
either by formal treaty, presidential declaration or executive agreement the US is committed to
provide military support to more than 40 nations throughout the world ("The Economics of
Defense Spending"). Not only does the stability of our own boundaries weaken, the stability of
countries we are in an agreement to protect are weakened as well. With the strength of these
countries declining, other issues occur. One issue that arises can be highlighted as, the
downsizing of military budgets in the 1990s also brings challenges with the search for improving
efficiency and the better value for money. Procurement of new weapon systems and the
cooperation of allied countries become more of a reliability when downsizing the military
budget (Sandler). This decrease allows tension to rise and cause issues within the agreement of
providing protection. The U.S along with other countries begin to become exposed and
exploitable by growing military powers. Stronger, more powerful countries could take advantage
of this and use it as an opportunity for territorial gain. Statistically, The 8 percent fall in U.S.
military spending in 2013 resulted in a two percentage point fall in the global share, as military
spending by the rest of the world increased 2 percent ("Trends in U.S. Military Spending"). It is
apparent that countries are building up their militaries as we decrease ours. This is a serious
threat to national security as well as a threat to the safety of our allies which we help to protect

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with our military forces. Although these facts surrounding our weakening military provide
plenty of evidence, many arguments come up that question if it is really an intelligent decision to
increase the funding in our military, or more specifically in our United States Navy.
Many people could argue and show statistics that the United States already puts great
amounts of funding towards the military and that it would be a more reasonable idea to decrease
those numbers drastically and provide funding to other significant federal programs. They might
also argue that the United States military surpasses other countries military spending drastically
as well. Both of these arguments are true, but would both prove to be inefficient as it is apparent
that more issues will be caused if we were to decrease these funds. For example, China
announced a double-digit increase in military spending Sunday, a rise that comes amid an
intensifying strategic rivalry between the United States and China in Asia and concerns in
Washington about the secrecy surrounding the Chinese defense budget ("Continuing Buildup,
China Boosts Military Spending More Than 11 Percent"). The military is the reason the United
States has the ability to claim themselves as one of the most powerful and secure countries in the
world. If we decide to decrease the current funding towards the military, other countries, such as
China, will continue spending more and more in attempts to surpass the current power the United
States holds. Maintaining global power is essential to creating a safe environment. With an
increased Navy it allows us to have an added security on our borders. It is important to protect
the water around the country because about 70% of our planet is covered by water; 80% of the
earths population lives within an hours drive to the sea; 90% of global trade is seaborne; and
95% of voice and data are carried via undersea cables (Trends in US military spending.
Council on Foreign Relations). The majority of this earth is covered in water, so maintaining

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force throughout ocean space across the globe is essential for continued excellence in the
protection of the United States. It can be said that overall, increasing the funding for the Navy is
more beneficial and will result in safer national conditions than if current declining funding
continues.
Increasing the funding for the United States Navy would prove to be more of an
advantage for the U.S. because it would increase the number of active ships in the Navy, it would
prevent and decrease the threat of uprising nations attempting to surpass the capability of the
United States, and it would continue to add security to the United States and the nations that have
security agreements with the U.S. Overall the boundaries and dominance of the United States
military would be benefitted from just the increase of the funding to the Navy branch. Our
oversea power is falling due to the cuts and the idea that we are under minimal threat from
opposing countries. As stated in the Navy Expansion Act of 2017, increasing the funding by 2.5
percent annually until the fiscal year of 2035 will allow our nations Navy to thrive once again.
This funding will be provided from subtracting the amount of money coming from other
financial divisions within the country, and also from redistributing the current funds within the
five branches of U.S government. A stronger nation provides protection to all.

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Works Cited
Cropsey, Seth. "S.O.S for a Declining American Navy." WSJ. Wsj.com, 06 Jan. 2016. Web. 18
Sept. 2016.
Kaplan, Robert D. "America's Elegant Decline." The Atlantic. N.p., Nov. 2007. Web. 18 Sept.
2016.
Looney, Robert E., and Stephen L. Mehay. "The Economics of Defense Spending." NPS.
Routledge, Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Oct. 2016.
Mabus, Ray. "Secretary of Navy: Why Our Fleet Is Growing After Years of Decline." Time.
Time.com, 16 Sept. 2015. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
Majumdar, Dave. "Biggest Threat US Navy and NATO Face: Russian Subs and A2/AD
Bastions." Strategika 51. N.p., 05 July 2016. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.
Osborn, Kris. "Report: Chinese Navy's Fleet Will Outnumber U.S. by 2020."Defensetech. N.p.,
07 June 2016. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.
Perlez, Jane. "Continuing Buildup, China Boosts Military Spending More Than 11 Percent."
New York Times 5 (2012).
Sandler, Todd, and Keith Hartley. The economics of defense. Cambridge University Press,
1995.
Walker, Dinah. "Trends in U.S. Military Spending." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on
Foreign Relations, 15 July 2014. Web. 11 Oct. 2016.

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