Navy secretary says China has 'significant advantage' in shipbuilding, outpacing US

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro warned that China is outpacing the United States in shipbuilding and that the communist country has a "significant advantage" in that regard.

China has a "larger fleet now, and so they're deploying that fleet globally to places across the globe as well," Del Toro said Tuesday at a National Press Club event in Washington, D.C.

When asked what the implications are now that the Chinese are outpacing the U.S. in shipbuilding, he said, "We do need more ships in the future ... that can meet that threat. Unfortunately,  China does have a significant advantage."

As a communist country, China does not "have rules which they abide by" for labor, such as by using slaves in shipbuilding, Del Toro said. "I don't necessarily consider that an advantage but it is a reality."

China also has 13 shipyards, at least one of which has a greater capacity than all U.S. shipyards combined, he said.

The U.S. is not at a total disadvantage. Del Toro said that the U.S. has a "more modern, more capable [and] more lethal Navy" than China.

China's expanding naval power may be part of a larger attempt to expand global activity. Less than two weeks ago after the U.S. military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, the U.S. government said China has deployed a fleet of surveillance balloons across five continents.