For the first time since 1945, the United States saw its naval supremacy challenged by the new power of the Chinese navy.
The law of the sea and free movement on the oceans can in theory be called into question at the same time as the long western domination of the seas of the world, where the US Navy took over from the British navy in the middle of the 20th century.
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In just two decades, the power of the Chinese navy has more than tripled, gradually overtaking the US navy in number of ships.
As the United States embarked on the wars of September 11, costly and complex counterinsurgency conflicts and counterterrorism operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the curves have drawn closer, then crossed.
In 2015, the Chinese fleet numbered 255 combat ships.
It owns 360 buildings at the start of 2021, more than 60 more than the US Navy.
If the construction plan continues, China will have 400 combat ships.
"Already possessing the
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