US seeks shipbuilding expertise from South Korea and Japan to counter China

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 8:17 AM EDT, August 17, 2025


WASHINGTON (AP) — American lawmakers are using a trip to South Korea and Japan to explore how the United States can tap those allies’ shipbuilding expertise and capacity to help boost its own capabilities, which are dwarfed by those of China.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., who are scheduled to land in Seoul on Sunday before traveling to Japan, plan to meet top shipbuilders from the world’s second- and third-largest shipbuilding countries. The senators want to examine the possibilities of forming joint ventures to construct and repair noncombatant vessels for the U.S. Navy in the Indo-Pacific and bring investments to American shipyards.

“We already have fewer capacity now than we did during Operation Iraqi Freedom” in 2003, Duckworth told The Associated Press. “We have to rebuild the capacity. At the same time, what capacity we have is aging and breaking down and taking longer and more expensive to fix.”

Their trip comes as President Donald Trump demands a plan to revive U.S. shipyards and engage foreign partners. The Pentagon is seeking $47 billion for shipbuilding in its annual budget. The urgency stems from the fact that Washington severely lags behind China in building naval ships, a situation raising alarms among policymakers who worry the maritime balance of power could shift to China, now the world’s No. 1 shipbuilder.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/shipbuilding-south-korea-japan-china-us-a3cf2579ca24a02b1744b9cf74b7a95a

[rickyhall]

1. We forgot how to build ships? How many did we build in WWII? Republicans.

[Cheezoholic]

2. It's because we MUST build 70 trillion bazzillion dollar soon to be obsolete giant phalic symbol Aircraft Carriers

We build stupid they build smart. We build ego's they build prudence. We pay 500 times what they pay for a screw because, you know, the contractors SAY the screws cost that much while they GREASE palms in the hallways of the Pentagon with the leftovers. You want a fast sleek efficient lethal military machine? Cut defense spending by half period full stop.

FF!!!!

[thought crime]

3. US shipbuilding has slowed down to a very expensive crawl.

Shipbuilding is a low-tech industry depending heavily on blue collar labor, so it faces the same pressure as other manufacturing in the US; foreign competition is cheaper. Most "blue collar" workers can get higher pay for less skill in the service industry. Potential welders know they will eventually be replaced by robots and can make more driving an Uber or a FedEx van. Or being a content provider, etc.

Shipbuilding for the Navy has a worse problem because the vessels must be built to specialized designs at a high standard. Features such as nuclear propulsion and deep and silent running for submarines make them extremely expensive. In addition, the Navy's civilian force, NAVSEA, has almost lost the ability to do good design work, due to the retirement of many experienced Naval Architects and engineers.

Duckworth and Kim have the right idea but I'm not sure Korean or Japanese firms could take over American shipbuilding companies and fix them, without truly massive investment in automation.

This is a test case for Trump's "plan" (wish) to rejuvenate American manufacturing. Does he talk the talk, or walk the walk? So far, it's business as usual.

[Old Testament Libera]

4. Japan and South Korea are our allies...

...so there is no reason we can't buy ships from them. Might want to cut the tariffs, though.

Even in 1939 Japanese built ships as good as ours. On the other hand, a little boost to domestic shipbuilding would seem to be a good idea for the nation that wants to "Rule the Waves"

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

5. Do we have a steel industry that can support a shipbuilding industry?

Or do we have to get the steel from China?

A lot of our basic manufacturing is gone, and will be expensive to restart. Steel mills are no longer allowed to belch smoke.