Rowing in the Same Direction

The U.S. Navy released its latest “Shipbuilding Plan” in May. It comes at a dire moment – in a long running series of them – for the American maritime industrial base. The U.S. needs to focus on growing its fleet and the reality is that America needs to leverage its allies to get the job done. 

China has overtaken the U.S. fleet in active warships and China’s industrial capacity suggests a growing gap ahead. And that’s a metric where size matters: History suggests that even higher quality, smaller fleets lose out to larger fleets in nearly 90 percent of naval wars reviewed by USNI analysis.

American allies offer an immediate path toward resolving this risk. Italy, Japan, and South Korea bring shipbuilding expertise and robust industrial bases to the problem set. This is critical shipbuilding capacity that should be leveraged by the U.S. Navy. 

But there’s also a looming red flag in some markets, where ties to China – including via labor unions like the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) in South Korea – could create vulnerabilities for the U.S. supply chain and maritime industrial base. 

The U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding plan recognizes and grapples with the daunting strategic reality of reindustrialization. And, thankfully, America’s shipbuilding plight has several potential unlocks at the ready. The early success of shipbuilding and autonomy startups, like Saronic, additive manufacturing leaders, like Divergent, and the efficiency gains for production and maintenance from the likes of Gecko Robotics fuel optimism on the innovation front. 

The Navy also recognizes the potential role of foreign shipyards and foreign industrial conglomerates for building out of America’s production deficit. Options for relying on foreign shipbuilders is baked into the latest Shipbuilding Plan. And leaders have been speaking out about the need for foreign contributions publicly. In April, OMB Director Russ Vought hinted at foreign shipyards as a source for catching up; former Navy Secretary John Phelan promptly thereafter reiterated that foreign shipyards would be considered for both supply ships and warships. 

But for allied capability development to work in shipbuilding – and America’s reindustrialization campaign more broadly – collaborative efforts need to be mindful of hidden dependencies. South Korea’s current political, regulatory, and labor dynamics make the potential risks salient. Seoul has lurched leftward in a way that imperils diplomatic exchange and clouds industrial collaboration. Concretely, the political influence of South Korea’s labor unions, including the KCTU, institutionalizes that leftward lurch in a way that invites strategic risk for the U.S. industrial base and the U.S. military. 

The KCTU has weathered a series of allegations about its ties to North Korea and to the Chinese Communist Party. In September 2025, South Korea’s Supreme Court upheld the sentencing of a former KCTU official for violating the National Security Act. The investigation of those violations documented problematic ties feeding sensitive intelligence to North Korea and an emphasis on a push to “intensify anti-American and anti-Japanese struggle atmosphere” in South Korea. That latter push, of course, is wholly consistent with China’s global misinformation campaigns meant to sow friction in U.S. alliance relationships. All the while, the KCTU has increased its political ties alongside South Korea’s current President Lee Jae Myung. 

South Korea’s heavy industry possesses world leading shipbuilding expertise and capacity. Its strengths are complementary to America’s and promise to help resolve strategic industrial vulnerabilities in the U.S. maritime industrial base. 

But those strengths need to be reliable and not captive of political, regulatory, and strategic manipulation that ultimately bend toward China. America’s reindustrialization effort needs committed and transparent partners; ones that are willing and able to help American industry find its footing domestically and to beat back Beijing’s reach globally. 

Before relying on foreign shipyards, U.S. leaders need to take steps to guarantee that this reindustrialization opportunity isn’t wasted. Allies like South Korea need to provide stable political, regulatory, and labor environments. This means rejecting  Marxist pressures from its labor unions while also enhancing industrial security protections against Chinese manipulation. 

It’s time to build. America’s allies should be a critical unlock for the shipbuilding piece of America’s broader reindustrialization. But American investments and partnerships need to be mindful of hidden dependencies, like those that labor unions might pose in South Korea. 

Nathan Picarsic is a senior fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies and co-founder of Horizon Advisory.