Reference News Network, January 17 report: Hong Kong's South China Morning Post website published an article titled "Trump's 'Golden Fleet' Initiative Aims to 'Enhance U.S. Military and Strategic Advantages' on January 15. The author is Liu Zhen (pinyin). Excerpts from the article follow:

The U.S. Secretary of the Navy outlined President Donald Trump's "Golden Fleet" initiative on the 13th, stating that revitalizing the U.S. shipbuilding industry is crucial for regaining maritime strategic advantages over China.

While speaking at the Surface Navy Association Symposium, U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Richardson emphasized the importance of a strong industrial base and warned that the U.S. Navy currently cannot compete with Beijing's production capacity.

He said, "To be a superpower, you need a dominant military force, a strong economy, and manufacturing capability. A hollowed-out industrial base cannot sustain global maritime power."

Richardson admitted that all of the U.S.'s current shipbuilding projects are "a mess," "behind schedule and over budget," and compared these "disturbing facts" with China's manufacturing capabilities.

His data showed that China has a manufacturing workforce of about 100 million people, while the U.S. has less than 13 million. In 2022, China had approximately 1,800 ships under construction, while the U.S. had only five.

He said, "This is not a challenge of the future, but something happening right now." He urged Washington to enter a "wartime state" and compared it to the industrial mobilization during World War II.

To close this gap, Richardson unveiled details of the "Golden Fleet" plan, which aims to sign the largest tonnage shipbuilding contracts since World War II to restore America's shipbuilding capabilities.

The "Golden Fleet" plan announced by Trump at the end of last December includes a proposal to build a "Trump"-class battleship. Richardson said that the fleet would be a mix of platforms, including destroyers, aircraft carriers, submarines, new frigates, auxiliary ships, and various unmanned vessels.

He described this controversial battleship as a "deadly and decisive response" to future conflicts, rather than a relic of the past, aimed at providing continuous firepower, strong air defense and missile defense, as well as command capabilities for both manned and unmanned forces.

Richardson said, "This battleship can not only shoot down arrows, but also kill the archers."

Richardson said that although the "Trump"-class battleship has high-end combat capabilities, the production of more affordable small surface warships like new frigates will also accelerate to meet time and mission requirements.

He emphasized two key components needed to project power across the vast distance of the Indo-Pacific to potential adversaries. The logistics, composed of modern oilers, ammunition ships, auxiliary ships, and forward supply bases, is the "backbone," while unmanned autonomous systems are the "core" element of the new fleet.

Richardson added that the U.S. shipbuilding industry needs to hire about 250,000 skilled workers in the next decade to meet the demand for building this fleet. These jobs will not be replaced by artificial intelligence or automation, but instead will be empowered by these new technologies. (Translated by Wang Qun)

On December 22, 2025, U.S. President Trump announced a new type of warship named after himself. (AFP)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7596317294473626150/

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