China and Russia Challenge US Naval Supremacy

By South Front
Global Research, January 06, 2016
South Front 6 January 2016

Url of this article:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/china-and-russia-challenge-us-naval-supremacy/5499574

A remarkable period of success for Russia and China has come in the efforts of developing their advanced navies. This occurs to be a problem for America’s naval supremacy at a time when the US Navy is trying to adapt to the changing security environment, US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said.

“For the first time in 25 years, the United States is facing a return to great power competition. Russia and China both have advanced their military capabilities to act as global powers,” he stated in a report, titled “A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority.”

The document, released on January 5, commented on the other countries that are trying to acquire “advanced technology, including military technologies that were once the exclusive province of great powers.” Richardson listed North Korea, Iran’s “advanced missiles, proxy forces and other conventional capabilities,” as well as international terrorist organizations as a threat to the US.

“Coupled with a continued dedication to furthering its nuclear weapons and missile programs, North Korea’s provocative actions continue to threaten security in North Asia and beyond,” the document stated.

According to Richardson’s document Russia and China command a ‘growing arsenal of high-end warfighting capabilities’, designed to exploit the US Navy’s ‘vulnerabilities’ and ‘to leverage the maritime, technological and information systems,’ the document noted.

The document also comments on the fact that both of the countries ‘continue to develop and field information-enabled weapons, both kinetic and non-kinetic, with increasing range, precision and destructive capacity.’

“The Russian Navy is operating with a frequency and in areas not seen for almost two decades, and the Chinese PLA(N) is extending its reach around the world,” the report added.

On January 6, Pyongyang announced that North Korea successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. Russia considered the action as an violation of international law and urged all stakeholders to look for a diplomatic solution to the issue.

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