Marine Exercise Cancellation Exposes US Pacific Ship Shortage

The lack of U.S. Navy ships in the Asia-Pacific is an emerging problem for U.S. military readiness, particularly amid the increasing Chinese designs on maintaining control of Taiwan, U.S. officials warn.

“We are at the point where any little problem with one of the amphibious ships throws the schedule for the whole fleet and affects the Marines’ ability to deploy,” Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Bryan Clark told The Wall Street Journal.

“If the pivot toward Asia really was a priority, we would ensure that the Pacific-facing amphibious ships were maintained ready.”

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a 2,000 Marine unit based in Okinawa, Japan, was recently grounded due to a lack of a ship available for its training exercise – a strange reality because it is a rapid-response force that did not have a way to respond, according to the report.

The USS Rushmore was unavailable due to maintenance issues, but the scrubbing of the mission has left defense officials concerned amid emerging threats in the region.

While there are other Navy ships that could take the place of one like the USS Rushmore, lacking one without the ability to deploy helicopters or aircraft for cover is dangerous for units like the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Amphibious assault ships lack air cover, complicating potential rapid response in the region, officials warn, according to the Journal.

Also, there is a shortage of ships to transport troops, particularly taking Marines from island to island in the Pacific amid the China threat.

The U.S. military began shifting its focus on China as a primary military rival five years ago, according to the report.

That is happening as outdated Air Force assets like the F-15 jet fighters are being decommissioned in the Asia-Pacific region and new high-tech replacements are not quite ready to replace them, leaving a vulnerable gap, defense experts warn the Journal.

“Time matters,” Gen. David Berger, the Marine Corps commandant, recently told Congress.

“Most of the cases, you need a seaborne force, and you need Marines that can project power ashore.”

The Navy’s $255.8 billion 2024 budget request seeks to decommission several amphibious warships to cut costs, according to Adm. Mike Gilday, naval operations chief.

“Let me be clear: this budget request has failed — yet again — to build a U.S. Navy fleet that is capable of meeting even basic tasks, to say nothing of growing strong enough to deter near-term threats,” Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro at a recent hearing.

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