John Phelan’s tenure as Secretary of the Navy is likely to be one of the most important in recent history.

On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed American businessman and investor John Phelan as the new Secretary of the Navy.

In this role, Phelan will now lead the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps into some of the rockiest seas since their inception—as near-peer adversaries, an aging fleet, and fiscal concerns all require urgent attention.

Phelan’s Top Priority: China  

Phelan takes office as Secretary of the Navy as China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is directly trying to wrestle control of the seas from the United States. Beijing is doing so by building more, and newer, warships. 

Accordingly, Phelan has repeatedly affirmed that building new ships to meet the Chinese threat comes first and foremost.

“I don’t think I could say ‘shipbuilding’ enough times,” Phelan quipped to lawmakers several times during the hearing.

The new secretary’s fixation on building more surface combatants and submarines is well-placed. Fueled by hundreds of billions of dollars in reported and illicit naval spending, the PLAN is growing stronger every year—forming the most obvious part of Beijing’s attempt to modernize its armed forces. A considerable portion of China’s spending has gone to building new warships. From 2005 to 2019, the Chinese Navy grew by an astounding 55 percent, and has grown further in the past half-decade; it is now estimated that China could put as many as 770 ships to sea in the event of a conflict. As part of this modernization, China is building new aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines—although it has experienced hiccups along the way.  

Budgetary Concerns Are a Vital Issue

The new Secretary of the Navy also has to deal with other challenges, too—most notably fiscal concerns about the state of the Navy.  

“The U.S. Navy is at a crossroads, extended deployments, inadequate maintenance, huge cost overruns, delayed shipbuilding, failed audits, subpar housing, and sadly, record high suicide rates are systemic failures that have gone unaddressed for far too long,” Phelan told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month. “Frankly, this is unacceptable.”

“I intend to sit down Day One, and we are going to go through every contract that we have and understand what exactly they say and what flexibility they do or do not give us, what contract needs to change or not change, and why,” he added. 

The Senate confirmed Phelan with a 62-30 vote. Twelve Democrats voted in favor of the confirmation, and no Republican opposed it.

Phelan does not have any previous military experience. However, he has had an extensive and successful career in the corporate world.

The new Secretary of the Navy has a lot of work on his plate. Indeed, Phelan’s tenure is likely to be one of the most important in recent history. With the PLAN engaged in a silent but deadly shipbuilding race, the U.S. Navy must ensure that it has the necessary surface combatants, submarines, support vessels, and aircraft to compete effectively.

About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou  

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP. 

Image: Department of Defense / U.S. Navy. 

The post What the New Secretary of the Navy Wants appeared first on The National Interest.