Gregg Easterbrook isn’t so sure: “In aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, naval aviation, surface firepower, assault ships, missiles and logistics, the United States Navy is more powerful than all other navies of the world combined… Chinese naval expansion does not pose any direct threat to the national security of the United States, or to its dominance of the oceans… This situation is a tremendously positive development for the world, but it also means there is no reason to increase the Navy’s budget, nor for Congress to fret about how many ships we have.”

Bryan McGrath says that if anything the US Navy is too small.