The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China continues to expand at a staggering pace, solidifying its position as the world's largest naval fleet.

To get an idea of this scale, China built between 115 and 125 military warships from 2020 to 2025, averaging 19 to 21 units per year. This rate surpasses the combined production of powers such as the United States, Japan, and South Korea, which together added only about 46 to 51 ships in the same period. Even if we added European production to that of the US, South Korea, and Japan, it wouldn't change much. The Chinese fleet now totals approximately 395 combat ships, eclipsing the 296 of the US, the roughly 140 of South Korea, and the 103 of Japan.

But it's not just the numbers that count, it's the production capacity behind them. Based on the production during the last six years: China holds about 48-52% of global warship production, and when combined with Russia's (10-14%), Iran's (1.5-3%), and North Korea's (1-2%), this allied bloc controls 60-70% of worldwide warship building, mostly in the hands of nations sanctioned by the West. Isn't that staggering? The United States accounts for 8-10%, while South Korea and Japan together represent about 12-15% of the share. This is largely because many Western shipyards lack the dual-use flexibility of Chinese and some Russian ones.

On the submarine front, Chinese dominance is even more pronounced. The PLAN has commissioned 14-18 submarines in the last six years, raising its fleet to 68 units, including advanced nuclear models like the Type 093B Shang III and AIP-equipped Yuan-class diesel submarines. In comparison, the US added just 7 Virginia-class submarines (total fleet of 68), while Japan and South Korea together built 11 (fleets of 24 and 22, respectively). Even combining major Western forces, China is on pace to match or exceed them in quantity over the next 10-12 years at current rates, with the ability to produce 4-6 submarines annually, nearly double the combined average of the US, South Korea, and Japan (about 3.2 per year).

Considering global production over the last five years, averages look like this: China 30-40%, Russia 15-23%, Iran 4-6%, North Korea 3-4%, with this bloc accounting for roughly 55-70% of worldwide submarine output.

The West still has its advantage when it comes to Vertical Launch System (VLS).

US VLS: 8,400; China VLS: 4,300–5,500; Europe VLS: 2,800; Russia VLS: 2,600; Japan VLS: 950; SK VLS: 650; Iran VLS: 180–250; NK VLS: 100

However, this comparison cannot be made in isolation, because Chinese VLS cells have a unique engineering advantage: the ability to support both hot-launch (missile ignites in the cell) and cold-launch (missile is ejected first, then ignites) missiles from the same universal system of cells. This allows them to fire: anti-air missiles (surface-to-air missiles), anti-ship missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, land-attack cruise missiles, and anti-submarine rockets.

Superiority doesn't stop at numbers. Chinese missiles on ships and submarines represent a qualitative leap, focusing on hypersonic and long-range technologies that outmatch Western equivalents. I dare say this Chinese capability could be enough to overwhelm the US Seventh Fleet in under an hour.

For example, the YJ-21 and DF-21D reach speeds of Mach 6-10 with ranges of 1,500-2,000 km, enabling precision ballistic anti-ship strikes that challenge defences like the US Aegis. Others like the DF-26 (supersonic, 4,000 km range) and the JL-3 SLBM (10,000+ km, Mach 10+) equip Type 052D/055 destroyers and Type 094/096 submarines, providing area-denial capabilities no Western ship matches in speed or evasion.

Defensive systems like the HHQ-9 (Mach 4.2, 200 km) complement them, making Chinese platforms like the Renhai-class cruiser (112 VLS cells) more versatile than American counterparts like the Arleigh Burke (96 cells), today the only ship in the world, alongside South Korea's Sejong the Great (128 VLS cells), capable of rivalling the Chinese Type 055.

This Chinese naval expansion takes on even more intimidating contours with Russian naval support. The Beijing-Moscow alliance, strengthened by joint exercises and technology exchanges, adds hypersonic missiles like the Zircon (Mach 9, 1,000 km) and Kalibr (Mach 0.8-3, up to 2,500 km cruise), equipping Gorshkov-class frigates and Yasen-M submarines. But it doesn't stop there, smaller corvettes like the Gremyashchiy, Karakurt, and Tsiklon are also armed with these missiles. As bne IntelliNews reported, Europe is already in the position where it cannot match the Russian military. The addition of Chinese weaponry suggests that their combined forces also outmatch all of Nato’s combined forces.

Imagine a small corvette launching a hypersonic missile against which your large vessel has minimal defence chances. The Russian fleet, with 221 ships and 80 submarines, includes capabilities exceeding Western ranges, the Kalibr, for instance, outstrips the Tomahawk in versatility for land attacks. Russia also recently introduced the nuclear powered Poseidon torpedo that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no equivalent in Western armouries.

Together, China and Russia control about 616 ships and 148 submarines, creating a naval bloc that would make any Indo-Pacific confrontation extremely challenging for the West, especially in access-denial scenarios. We're talking about the only two forces with hypersonic, long-range anti-ship missiles.

This naval disparity is redefining the global balance, with China projecting a fleet of 435 vessels by 2030. While the West invests heavily with long delivery times like AUKUS, it risks handing China quantitative and technological dominance of the oceans.