Email of the writer: dht0620@126.com
While President Donald Trump and many emotional American astronomy fans were enjoying a rare total solar eclipse that swept across North America for the first time in nearly a century last Monday, a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, collided with a commercial vessel named the Alnic MC east of the Straits of Malacca early in the morning that day.
Ten sailors were missing and five others injured in the collision. U.S. military helicopters as well as Singapore’s coast guards launched search and rescue efforts. Malaysia also joined the joint rescue operation.
The McCain is the fourth U.S. Navy vessel to be involved in an accident this year. In January, the USS Antietam ran aground, dumping 1,100 gallons of hydraulic fluid into Tokyo Bay. On May 9, guided-missile ship the USS Lake Champlain collided with a South Korean fishing boat off the Korean Peninsula.
In mid-June, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with the Philippine container vessel ACX Crystal, claiming the lives of seven U.S. sailors, injuring three others and damaging both ships.
Since all four of the collided military vessels, including the McCain and the Fitzgerald, belong to the 7th Fleet of the U.S. Navy, which is based in Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture, 50 km southwest of Tokyo, the U.S. Navy relieved fleet commander Vice-Admiral Joseph Aucoin of his duty. U.S. Navy Admiral John Richardson has also ordered all the country’s fleets across the world to have one or two days off this week to review their procedures and training to make sure they are operating safely.
Initial reports indicated that the McCain sustained serious damage to its port side. The impact tore a large hole in the warship and resulted in flooding to nearby compartments, including crew sleeping areas, machinery and communication rooms.
The Liberian-flagged Alnic MC was carrying 12,000 tons of fuel oil when it collided with the McCain, and it is fortunate that no oil spill has been detected so far. As we all know, it is very hard for a 30,000-tonnage vessel as heavy as the Alnic MC to change directions on the sea. However, the much smaller destroyer McCain, with a displacement of only 8,300 metric tons, should be more agile and flexible allowing for it to evade such an accident. Furthermore, the U.S. warship is equipped with the world’s most advanced radar and electronic tracking system, and aided by Navy crew members on constant watch.
While praying and hoping for good news about the missing sailors, we also want to know the reason why U.S. warships collide so frequently in the South China Sea. Despite the fact that the investigation is still ongoing for the latest mishap, we may find some clues by tracking the trail of the destroyer McCain during the past weeks.
According to an anonymous U.S. official, the McCain was performing a close-up surveillance and military survey of the South China Sea on Aug. 10. On its way back to Singapore’s Changi Naval Base on Aug. 19, many photos of U.S. sailors fishing, playing cards and games on the deck were published on the McCain’s official Facebook page. Two days later, the destroyer collided with the commercial vessel off the Singapore coast. It is still not sure whether negligence is the cause of the accident, but the sloppiness of American crews is obvious and already a serious problem.
The Chinese Government voiced concerns about threats and hidden risks to navigation safety in the South China Sea and related waters after a series of U.S. warship collisions in 2017. China hopes that the missing personnel are in good condition and the issue can be properly handled, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
The South China Sea has been an integral part of China for centuries. In the name of “Navigation Freedom,” U.S. warships have frequently intruded into Chinese territorial waters in the South China Sea during the past years. The American intention is very clear. More than 10,000 kilometers away from the Asian waters, the United States should not be concerned about freedom of navigation there.
The real issue is its inability to tolerate any challenge to its supremacy in Asia. Moreover, there is no denying the fact that the frequent activities by U.S. military vessels in the Asia-Pacific regions have not only fatigued its own Navy soldiers, but also posed great threats to commercial transportation in the Straits of Malacca, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
(The author is the editor-in-chief of the Shenzhen Daily with a Ph.D. from the Journalism and Communication School of Wuhan University.)
美舰也被“日食”蒙上了眼
上周一，正当美国总统特朗普和众多的天文爱好者兴高采烈地观赏百年一遇的日全食之时，美国海军的“约翰.麦凯恩”号驱逐舰也于当天凌晨在新加坡附近的马六甲海峡与一艘悬挂利比里亚国旗的大型油轮“阿尔尼克”号相撞。
这一海上碰撞事件导致10名美国水兵失踪和5人受伤。美国军用直升机和新加坡的海岸警卫队仍在出事海域展开搜救，马来亚西也加入了联合救援行动。
“麦凯恩”号撞船是美国第七舰队所属军舰今年发生的第四次重大事故。今年1月31日“安蒂塔姆”号导弹巡洋舰在距离日本横须贺母港不远处的东京湾搁浅，向附近海面倾倒了1,100加仑的液压制动液体。5月9日“尚普兰湖”号导弹巡洋舰与一艘韩国渔船在朝鲜半岛东面相撞。6月17日“菲茨杰拉德”号导弹驱逐舰与一艘菲律宾的集装箱船在日本附近海域相撞，导致美国海军官兵7死3伤。
因为四起撞船事件都是由母港位于日本东京西南方向50公里的横须贺美国太平洋第七舰队军舰引发，美国海军高层近日已经撤换该舰队司令约瑟夫.奥库安中将。美国海军作战部部长、海军上将约翰.理查森也下令在本周利用一到两天暂停世界各地的美国舰队行动,对所有的人员、设备、维护和训练展开全面检查。
初步调查显示“麦凯恩”号驱逐舰左舷严重受损，船身被撞开了一个大洞，导致海水灌入受损部位邻近的住舱、机舱和通讯室。与之相撞的“阿尔尼克”号当时载有12,000吨石油，所幸没有发生原油泄漏事故。众所周知，总吨位高达3万吨的“阿尔尼克”号要在海上转变方向非常困难，且需要很长时间。但只有8,300吨的“麦凯恩”号驱逐舰应当更为敏捷，且美国军舰都配备了全球最为先进的雷达和电子跟踪系统，何况船桥船尾还有多名海军哨兵昼夜值班瞭望。
在为失踪水兵祈福的同时，我们也非常想知道美国军舰今年在南海附近水域事故频发的原因。虽然最近这次事故的原因尚在调查之中，但从“麦凯恩”号驱逐舰本月的活动轨迹中也可看出一些端倪。据一位匿名美国官员透露，8月10日“麦凯恩”号驱逐舰进入了我国南沙群岛的一座岛礁进行抵近侦查和军事测量。8月19日在返回新加坡樟宜海军基地的途中，该船的官方“脸书”帐号还发表了多幅美军海军官兵在甲板上钓鱼、打牌、游戏作乐的照片。8月21日凌晨，“麦凯恩”号即告在新加坡附近的马六甲海域与油轮相撞。虽然我们不能肯定疏于职守就是此次撞船的原因，但是美国海军的马虎大意显然已经成为海上安全的重要问题。
中国政府对美国海军近期在南海和相关海域频繁出现事故深表关切和担忧。外交部新闻发言人华春莹希望那些失踪的美国海军官兵能够一切平安，同时敦促美国政府妥善处理此类事件。
南海自古以来就是中国领土。近年来美国假借“航行自由”之名，多次派遣军舰非法闯入我国领海和其他争议海域。司马昭之心路人皆知。作为一个域外国家，在这个离美国十万八千里的亚洲海域，它关心的根本不是什么自由航行。真正的原因是“山姆大叔”不能忍受其在亚洲的霸权受到任何挑战。无庸置疑的是，美国频繁派出军舰在亚太地区展开军事行动并屡屡惹出事端，不仅让自己的士兵疲于奔命和军方高层颜面扫地，也对全球最为繁忙的航线马六甲海峡的商业运输构成了巨大的安全隐患。