Senior Republican Senator: US Navy Cannot Defeat China.
Referring to the current state of the US Navy, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton warned that the Navy force could not fight China and defeat it.
The Republican senator, a member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, questioned the Navy’s ability to “fight and defeat China.”
“I believe the surface navy, our destroyers and other warships need a cultural change,” Tom Cotton told Fox News. I think some of this goes back 30 years to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of a rival at sea. But this report was not provided by me … The source of this statement is the sailors (US Navy), (the source of this statement) are the sailors, their chiefs and their subordinate officers, and in some cases commanding officers who express their confidence that “The navy is now ready for war and victory, they have lost.”
“Obviously, the navy has a big and complex task, but the only important thing we have for that it is to be ready to fight and defeat the Chinese navy,” the Republican lawmaker continued.
“I have real problems and doubts right now because the marine force has instilled a kind of war mentality that allows us to do that (preparing to fight and defeat China),” warned the Arkansas representative in the US Senate.
“We need to do more in the United States,” Tom Cotton warned of China’s actions and involvement in a “major shipbuilding campaign.” “We need to build more ships, we need a bigger force.”
In an interview with Fox News, the US senator referred to a recent report on the state of the US Navy to congressional lawmakers.
A Republican member of Congress has previously said that this force is suffering from a “leadership crisis and a prevailing culture,” according to a report interviewed with 94 U.S. Navy sailors.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has previously denied allegations by Republicans such as Tom Cotton and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz that China or Russia know the United States has the best military in the world.
