The shipbuilding empire fueling China’s naval rise is a juggernaut, but tough questions remain

Sustainment and maintenance costs are no small obstacle, and they are something with which the US and other powerful navies grapple.

“Perhaps the PLAN can run its fleet more economically than the US Navy would,” Mike Sweeney, a non-resident fellow at Defense Priorities, wrote in April. “But operational budgets can only be reduced so far.”

“Fuel and the provision of other essential supplies to an active blue-water fleet are unavoidable expenditures,” Sweeney added. “Maintenance is another area where outlays will inevitably climb, the more consistently China deploys its fleet in global waters.”

That’s an area where a more experienced navy, such as the US, may maintain a leg-up, not just because of experience, but also because of its larger logistical capacity to keep ships fueled, supplied, and maintained. But even for the US Navy and the industries that support it, that process is far from perfect and often proves difficult.