Expanding Washington’s cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo in shipbuilding ensures Beijing’s gradual isolation in this sphere

On February 27, 2024, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro visited Korea and Japan. During the visit, the U.S. Secretary met with the leadership of Korean corporations Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean and Japanese companies Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Namura Shipbuilding to discuss Japan and Korea’s capabilities in shipbuilding. The discussion included expanding their cooperation with the United States.

The geopolitical and geo-economic implications of these meetings are somewhat broader. After the decline of the shipbuilding industry in the 1980s, the United States lacked human resources in shipbuilding and outdated shipyards, and their modernization required significant time and financial resources.

On the other hand, China currently has a numerical advantage in the navy over the United States, with about 90 ships. It can use this advantage as a vulnerability in the US shipbuilding industry to its advantage and to suddenly invade Taiwan.