The numbers do not lie and they are a national security emergency.

The latest data available from BRS Shipbrokers (BRS), China’s share of global commercial shipbuilding has exploded from 51 percent in 2022 (2,107 ships) to a staggering 70.9 percent in 2025 (4,055 ships). South Korea, Japan, Europe, and the rest of the world are watching their market shares shrink while Beijing’s shipyards churn out vessels at a pace we can barely comprehend.

This is not just about freighters and tankers. China’s commercial shipbuilding dominance gives the Chinese Communist Party a massive, dual-use industrial base it can surge into naval production in any crisis. While we debate, they build. They are building the world’s largest navy, with the capacity to replace losses overnight, and they are gaining control over the sea lanes that carry 90 percent of global trade.

We have talked about it. We have written reports about it. We have even crafted legislation to fix it. But we have not acted.

As a veteran who survived the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon and commanded a B-1 bomber squadron and Air Force wings, I know what deterrence looks like. It is not speeches. It is steel, welders, and shipyards operating at full capacity. America’s commercial shipbuilding capacity is now less than 1 percent of the global total. We build roughly five large oceangoing commercial vessels per year. China........

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