Australia recently purchased a total of 12 new stealth submarines. On a related note, Donald Trump is -- for once -- correct in his statements. In a recent speech, he cited the fact that our navy has crumbled throughout the past two decades. In June of last year, the Washington Post reported that U.S. marines might begin hitching rides on foreign vessels due to a shortage of resources within the U.S. Navy.
Australia claims, only one year later, that within 20 years, the Asian Pacific will be home to almost half of the world's hidden naval power. Half.
In 20 years. Not only is this a shocking statement, but it puts the U.S., Australia and their allies in an interesting predicament. As budget cuts continue to be made, as Russia and China continue to flex their military muscle and as China pushes their borders toward its surrounding neighbors, the fear of war lingers. Australia has formed a suitable response to this, purchasing for themselves 12 French submarines, whereas the U.S. continues to ignore the situation in the East.
Japan, much like Australia, has begun building up its own arsenal, recently adding to it a new fighter jet with stealth technology after the U.S. refused to assist in their stealth fighter production and purchase.
South Korea, unlike the United States' other two major allies in the Pacific, find themselves at a disadvantage. Though many of the U.S.'s troops are located on the mainland of Japan, Korea relies on the military aid we provide both at the border and, in terms of technological assistance, providing them with help in creating everything from standard issue rifles to plans and technical assistance for tanks and mobile artillery.
The U.S. and Europe have become stagnant, allowing their own military might to flounder in comparison to the Pacific, where the Chinese increase their budgets every year. The U.S. and its allies are staring down the barrel of a loaded gun, and only its allies seem to care.
We sell our technology to China, and they steal even more from us in an effort to outdo us. Less than five years ago, plans for the F-35 still in concept stages were intercepted by Chinese espionage teams. The plans were stolen along with 50 Terabytes of classified information by Chinese intelligence cells. The Chinese then developed an incredibly similar stage five fighter with stealth capability.
With this mounting threat, each of our allies in the Pacific find themselves in the face of future conflict. While we focus on an already dwindling challenge like ISIS, the Eastern world has gone on largely unnoticed by the U.S. It's time that changed, and it's time we, as a country, began seeking to deter violence and, if necessary, aid its allies in a war which someday may become unavoidable.
