GOP Lawmaker Raises Alarms on Navy’s Fuel Plan Amid Rising Chinese Military Threat

‘The Navy appears to be short—by several dozen ships—that’ll be needed to transport and deliver fuel to our bases and forces operating across the Indo-Pacific.’

Rear Adm. John Korka, Commander, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), and Chief of Civil Engineers, leads Navy and civilian water quality recovery experts through the tunnels of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 23, 2021. Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Luke McCall/U.S. Navy via AP

The House Select Committee on the China Communist Party (CCP) has asked the U.S. Navy to provide a detailed long-term plan for fuel redistribution for American forces after the recent closure of the strategic Red Hill fuel storage facility in Hawaii.

In a letter dated Jan. 17 to Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, Chairman Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) raised concerns that the Pentagon lacks a clear plan for storing and distributing fuel for U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific. He warned that the U.S. forces will likely face a failure if this logical issue is not addressed.