Speaking virtually to service members at Mar-a-Lago on Thanksgiving, President Donald Trump has claimed that he personally redesigned new Coast Guard ships because “I’m a looks person.”

The United States recently announced plans to boost its maritime law enforcement fleets amid China's continued expansion of its naval and coast guard presence in the Pacific.

Why It Matters

The president’s remarks to troops and sailors came weeks after the U.S. Coast Guard exercised a $507 million contract option with Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana to fund initial construction of 10 Sentinel -class fast response cutters as part of its fleet modernization and mission expansion efforts.

China operates both the world's largest navy and coast guard by hull count, according to a Pentagon assessment

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