Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Mr. Lagassé, for being here.
I'm not a member of this committee, though I find this conversation fascinating. You talked about coalitions, and you talked about NATO in particular and the importance of that group involvement. But let's face it, the Americans really are NATO. They have 11 Nimitz class carriers and I don't know how many submarines. I think the British have two carriers, and the French maybe two. Let's face it: that's the real power of NATO. That's the power of the western world.
But I read recently, just maybe a few months back, that the Chinese had bought one of the carriers that the Soviets were preparing to build and were refitting it. I understand they have to learn how to land planes on these things and everything else, but the Chinese are moving in that direction. I also recently read that they are developing an underground submarine station. We don't know too much about that, because that's all underground.
When you look at the history of the world, there have always been alliances, and the powerful nations have always risen and always fallen out. In your estimation, where is the United States as far as maintaining their sovereignty in the sea, in the air, and on the land goes? And where is China in comparison?