The Importance of Navies

By Jackson Belva

On a crisp early morning in 482 B.C., an Athenian politician named Themistocles rose from sleep and headed to the tri-monthly Assembly of Athens for a crucial debate. [1] Athens had recently acquired a massive surplus of silver collected from a state-owned mine, and the Assembly was to vote on what to do with the supply. The original proposal had been to distribute the wealth equally to all Athenian citizens – which would have given the entire city a significant wealth boost – but this Themistocles had a different idea: use to money to finance the building of a new fleet. Themistocles had long envisioned that the transformation of Athens into the premier naval power in Ancient Greece was necessary for its prominence and security and believed this to be a crucial moment toward achieving that goal. The Assembly adopted Themistocles’s proposal, and it came not a moment too soon as just two years later, Athens would send its fleet to fight off the invading Persian forces at the Battle of Salamis in 480 B.C. The Greeks would eventually emerge triumphant over the numerically superior Persians, and Athens secured itself as the premier naval authority in the Mediterranean, helping to usher in an era of decadence and democratic development never seen before.

Of course, the glory did not last. After the devastating Peloponnesian War saw Athens brought low, the city-state was forced to rebuild its navy and maritime culture. While the former was easy enough to achieve, the latter never recovered, and the forebears of Alexander the Great conquered Athens by taking its major naval bases practically unopposed through bribery and deception. But the lessons learned from Themistocles and his grand vision of hegemony through naval might were not lost; soon, other small- and medium-sized nations with maritime roots would become great powers of their era through naval domination. Carthage would cement itself as the archrival of the Roman Republic thanks to its naval influence in the Mediterranean; Venice had as much sway as the Papacy during the Medieval era due to its shipbuilding capabilities; and England created an empire upon which “the sun never set” with their vast armadas. [2]

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, another nation sought to develop itself into a global hegemon by developing its naval capabilities: the United States. Alfred Thayer Mahan, a naval officer and historian who served in the American Civil War, published his masterpiece The Influence of Sea Power Upon History in 1890, which outlined how the essential aspect for the success of a nation is ensuring it possesses maritime security. The book held tremendous value to Theodore Roosevelt, serving as Assistance Secretary of the Navy at the time, and he soon embarked on a path to completely reshape the American navy into what became known as the Great White Fleet. [3] Theodore’s descendant, Franklin Delano, would also stress the importance of naval power and push for the Two Ocean Navy Act of 1940 to prepare for the eventual conflicts with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Following the success of World War II, the United States boasted a navy exceeding 7,500 ships and had become the most powerful maritime force in history. [4]

Today, the state of the world’s oceans and which nation holds the most significant influence are vastly different. Global commerce has become more reliant on maritime trade routes than ever before, as demonstrated by the Suez Canal block and the economic harm it brought in 2021. [5] Simultaneously, the ocean is increasing in profitability thanks to the massive deposits of natural resources that reside beneath the waves and technology that can reach the depths. [6] Humanitarian crises are also becoming intertwined with the oceans as refugees frequently turn to makeshift vessels and rafts to flee conflicts in the Middle East and South America. [7] Other humanitarian issues connected to the sea will likely increase due to the effects of climate change in the coming years. Finally, there is the military component. While the world has focused on the primarily land-based war in Ukraine, China has been massing a fleet approaching 500 vessels by the end of this decade, while the United States may have fewer than 300. [8] China has also spared no expense regarding its ability to fight on the ocean, developing a vast arsenal of anti-ship missiles and is actively developing its first group of aircraft carriers. Additionally, China is fostering a generation of engineers and scientists far more prominent than the United States, posing a severe threat to the American military’s technological edge. [9]

In this modern era of security challenges, it is crucial that the United States and its allies reevaluate, revamp, and reinforce themselves at sea. Asides from the conflict in Ukraine and the chances that it will expand into mainland Europe, most experts believe that the areas of most likely future conflict reside on the Korean Peninsula or the South China Sea, both of which would undoubtedly involve the United States and its naval capabilities. Neither scenario portends well for the current American navy; in a simulated Chinese invasion of Taiwan, for example, experts projected the loss of several aircraft carriers, dozens of other major vessels, and hundreds of aircraft. [10] While the United States was able to force Chine away from Taiwan, the simulated damage to the American fleet would severely hamper its operational capacity for decades. Additionally, the size of the U.S. fleet limits how many ships it can bring to any zone of conflict, which could prove decisive in a modern conflict involving another major military power. [11]

For the United States to address these growing concerns, it must return to the works and principles created by Themistocles, Mahan, and both Roosevelts. The first priority for the US is to reevaluate itself as a maritime power and commit to that role fully on the global stage. This can be achieved by developing new shipyards throughout the continental US via a federal project similar to the Two Ocean Navy Act, spurring manufacturing and rejuvenating American pride in its maritime industry. Doing this would help hasten the expansion of the US navy by not only increasing the number of ships that could be built but also allowing for specific bases to be devoted to major projects like the new Ford-class supercarriers while others could develop smaller vessels such as destroyers or escort carriers. The US must also revamp its focus on the oceans and their importance. The past two decades have seen a shift in military doctrine to combat asymmetric warfare in the Middle East and counter cyber threats, subsequently diminishing the financial and strategic focus on maritime operations. [12] The Obama administration began to alter this, famously declaring a shift of interest to the Indo-Pacific region, and his successors have made good strides in continuing this trend, but more work needs to be done. The US is now working with the Philippines to station American forces there again, but it should also engage in similar discussions with Singapore, Australia, and eventually Vietnam. [13] Encouraging and incentivizing engineering, science, and political studies to counter China’s educational growth will also be pivotal in this field. The US should also work with nations worldwide to coordinate oceanic protection efforts to preserve environmental integrity, respond to natural disasters, and approach refugee situations with proper humanitarian goals. Lastly, the US must not seek to patrol and protect the world’s oceans alone. By building maritime alliances throughout the Indo-Pacific, the US could effectively ensure Taiwan’s protection from any Chinese incursion and coordinate a response to any crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Emphasizing naval development in NATO will simultaneously ensure that Russia’s aggression cannot expand to the open seas.

Themistocles was indeed the most instrumental mind of his generation, but he was also deeply patriotic. [1] Legend says that the night before the Battle of Salamis, Themistocles rallied the Greeks with a stirring speech in which he said they were fighting not for the conquest and enriching of some royal overlord like the Persians, but for their identity as free men. [14] Additionally, Themistocles foresaw the threat the Persians posed to Greece and knew that the only hope Athens had of surviving a conflict would be a powerful navy, but he had been proclaiming this for years without any sign of impending doom, putting him in a difficult political situation. Themistocles could counter these difficulties with the silver endowment by engaging in skillful contract negotiations in which the wealthy of Athens would finance the building and have favorable access to the merchant vessels, but the middle and lower classes would do the construction and reap the profits from the manufacturing. Both Roosevelt administrations also adopted similar approaches to tremendous success. [1]

This is the focus that the United States and its allies must have regarding the security of the oceans. To ensure continued global safety, the free world must see the oceans not as some geographic feature but as a component of our identity. The downfall of Athens to the Macedonians came from corruption amongst its wealthy and the lack of interest in its populace to recognize its maritime history as essential to its survival. With the United States at the helm, the free world cannot risk making the same mistake.

1. John R. Hale, Lords of the Sea, xxiii-14 (Penguin Books 2009) (2009).
2. Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans 137-146 (Penguin Books 2017) (2017).
3. Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans 222-229 (Penguin Books 2017) (2017).
4. Graham Allison, Destined for War, 128-132 (Mariner Books 2017) (2017).
5. Naval History of World War II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_history_of_World_War_II (last visited Feb. 17, 2023).
6. Elisabeth Braw, What the Ever Given Debacle Reveals About Our Increasing Dependence on Shipping – and its Hidden Victims. Foreign Policy Magazine, Oct. 12, 2021, at 42-44.
7. Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans 240-241 (Penguin Books 2017) (2017).
8. Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans 311-314 (Penguin Books 2017) (2017).
9. Estimates on the size of the PLAN include Ronald O’ Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, Updated March 8, 2022, Congressional Research Service, RL 33153; Jon Harper, “Eagle vs Dragon: How the U.S. and Chinese Navies Stack Up,” National Defense, 9 March 2020; and Geoff Ziezulewicz, “China’s Navy Has More Ships Than the US. Does That Matter?” Navy Times, 12 April 2021.
10. Graham Allison, Destined for War, 16-17 (Mariner Books 2017) (2017).
11. Mark F. Cancian, Matthew Cancian, Eric Heginbotham, The First Battle of the Next War: Wargaming a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jan. 2023, at 83-89.
12. Id.
13. Jerry Hendrix, Sea Power Makes Great Power, Foreign Policy Magazine, October 12, 2021, at 36-41.
14. Sui-Lee Wee, S. to Boost Military Role in the Philippines in Push to Counter China, N.Y. Times, Feb. 3, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/world/asia/philippines-united-states-military-bases.html?searchResultPosition=9
15. Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans 240-241 (Penguin Books 2017) (2017).