House Indo-Pacific Subcommittee Chair Young Kim [House Foreign Affairs Committee YouTube Channel] 

On July 22 (local time), a call was raised in the U.S. Congress for the United States to significantly strengthen shipbuilding cooperation with South Korea and Japan to counter China's expansion of maritime and military influence, which is backed by its market dominance in the shipbuilding industry.

As the Trump administration pushes to rebuild the domestic shipbuilding industry by leveraging investments and technical prowess from South Korea and Japan, this move is seen as an effort by Congress to provide institutional support for such tripartite cooperation.

The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific held a hearing on this day, inviting think-tank experts to discuss the topic of "Countering China's Market Dominance in Shipbuilding."

In her opening remarks, Subcommittee Chair Young Kim (R-CA) stated, "Today, China controls over 50% of global commercial shipbuilding, while the U.S. share is less than 0.1%."

She expressed concern that "if a conflict arises in the Taiwan Strait, China will not hesitate to use its maritime infrastructure for military purposes," noting that this represents not only an economic failure for the U.S. but also a serious national security vulnerability.

"We must build an aggressive shipbuilding alliance with South Korea and Japan," Chair Kim said. "If we combine American innovation with the industrial capabilities of South Korea and Japan, we can break China's maritime monopoly, and we must do so."

Furthermore, she emphasized the need to pass the 'Fleets Now Act,' which she previously introduced. The core of the bill is to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding infrastructure and workforce through attracting investments and educational exchanges with allies.

Ranking Member Ami Bera (D-CA) also highlighted the importance of coordination among allies against China, noting that South Korea and Japan are the second and third-largest shipbuilding nations in the world and stating, "We don't need to do this alone."

Rep. Bera particularly welcomed the fact that $150 billion of South Korea's $350 billion investment in the U.S. has been allocated to the shipbuilding industry, stressing that the U.S. must also present concrete long-term demand and plans to support these Korean investments.

He added, "What we are talking about is not having Korean workers build the ships themselves, but having skilled technicians from Korea and Japan train American workers so that they can build the vessels."

The Trump administration announced the 'American Maritime Action Plan' last February to revitalize its lagging shipbuilding industry and has expressed its commitment to strengthening cooperation with allies such as South Korea and Japan.

The 'SHIPS for America Act,' which includes provisions to increase the number of ships built in the U.S. and expand support for shipyards and maritime personnel, has also been introduced in the U.S. Congress on a bipartisan basis.

Think-tank experts appearing at the hearing also suggested that it would be difficult for the U.S. to independently restore its shipbuilding capabilities in the short term, urging for expanded cooperation, such as professional workforce exchanges, with countries like South Korea and Japan.

Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said, "We must build a unified front with key allies to counter China's offensive in the maritime industry and national security," suggesting that the joint front could include not only South Korea and Japan, but also the Philippines, Greece, and Taiwan.