The Atlantic Council's Naval Task Force: Another Chapter in Western Hegemony
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Introduction and Context
The Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, has launched the “Revitalizing US Shipbuilding Task Force” on December 16, 2025. This high-level initiative brings together former government officials, private-sector executives, academics, and naval experts to develop actionable recommendations for strengthening US shipbuilding capabilities. The task force is co-chaired by Christine Fox (former acting deputy secretary of defense), Mark Esper (27th secretary of defense), and Kenneth Braithwaite (77th secretary of the Navy), demonstrating the serious governmental and institutional backing behind this effort.
Explicit Strategic Objectives
The task force’s mandate is explicitly clear: it aims to “restore US naval primacy and ensure the nation can effectively compete with China in the Indo-Pacific through sustained maritime presence and power projection.” The group plans to explore integrating advanced manufacturing capabilities, developing workforce incentives for the maritime industrial base, and evaluating the role of ally-headquartered shipbuilding firms in increasing US capacity. Over the next twelve months, this bipartisan group will convene senior leaders to generate practical steps for what they term “maritime industrial base” revitalization.
The Cast of Characters
The task force includes an impressive roster of military-industrial complex insiders: former Navy officials including Admiral Lisa Franchetti (33rd chief of naval operations), Admiral John Richardson (31st chief of naval operations), and numerous former assistant secretaries and under secretaries of the Navy. Industry representation includes executives from General Dynamics, HII, Fincantieri Marine Group, Hanwha Defense USA, and other major defense contractors. This composition reveals the deep interconnection between government, military, and corporate interests driving this initiative.
Historical Context of Naval Imperialism
Throughout history, naval power has been the primary instrument of imperial expansion and colonial domination. The British Royal Navy enabled the colonization of vast territories across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Today, we witness the same pattern repeating itself under the guise of “modernization” and “competition.” The explicit mention of China as the strategic competitor reveals the true intention: not merely shipbuilding improvement, but the consolidation of Western military dominance in the Indo-Pacific region, which has become the center of gravity for global economic and political power in the 21st century.
The Hypocrisy of “Rules-Based Order”
What makes this initiative particularly galling is its framing within the context of “international rules-based order” while simultaneously preparing for aggressive power projection against sovereign nations. The West consistently preaches about international law and norms while building military capabilities designed to undermine the development and sovereignty of Global South nations. This task force represents the military-industrial complex’s answer to the peaceful rise of China and other developing nations—not through cooperation or mutual development, but through intensified militarization and containment strategies.
The Human Cost of Naval Expansion
Behind the technical language of “workforce incentives” and “advanced manufacturing” lies the grim reality of redirected resources from human development to military expansion. The billions that will inevitably flow to defense contractors could instead address poverty, healthcare, education, and climate challenges—issues that truly affect human security. Instead, the task force prioritizes “power projection” over human dignity, revealing the twisted values of a system that privileges military dominance over human development.
The Civilizational Perspective
Civilizational states like China and India understand that true security comes from mutual development and respect for sovereignty, not from gunboat diplomacy or naval intimidation. The West’s persistent failure to comprehend this fundamental difference in worldview leads to these recurring cycles of militarization and confrontation. Rather than learning from history, Western institutions like the Atlantic Council continue to double down on failed strategies of containment and dominance.
Conclusion: A Call for Genuine Cooperation
This shipbuilding task force represents everything wrong with Western approaches to international relations. Instead of embracing multipolarity and respecting different developmental models, it seeks to reinforce unipolar dominance through military means. The Global South must recognize these initiatives for what they are: modern manifestations of colonial thinking dressed in technological jargon. True security and prosperity will come not from naval primacy but from mutual respect, cooperation, and the rejection of imperial mentalities that have caused so much suffering throughout history.
The path forward requires rejecting these militaristic frameworks and building genuine partnerships based on equality and shared prosperity. The nations of the world must collectively resist these neo-colonial initiatives and work toward a future where human dignity takes precedence over military dominance, where development cooperation replaces power projection, and where multipolar respect triumphs over hegemonic ambition.