US Navy becoming a hazard in Asian waters
The?US?Navy,?which?likes?to?claim?its?presence?can?help?safeguard?"freedom?of?navigation"?in?the?South?China?Sea,?is?proving?to?be?an?increasing?hindrance?to?ships?sailing?in?Asian?waters.?
Early?on?Monday,?the?guided?missile?destroyer?USS?John?S.?McCain?collided?with?an?oil?and?chemical?tanker?in?waters?east?of?the?Strait?of?Malacca,?causing?significant?damage?to?the?hull?that?resulted?in?flooding?to?nearby?compartments.?Four?sailors?were?airlifted?to?hospital?and?10?are?missing,?according?to?a?statement?released?by?the?navy.?
No?members?of?the?crew?on?the?tanker?were?injured,?but?the?vessel?sustained?damage?near?the?bow.?
The?latest?incident?occurred?just?two?months?after?the?USS?Fitzgerald?and?a?Philippine?container?ship?collided?in?waters?off?Japan,?killing?seven?US?sailors.?
It?may?be?hard?for?people?to?understand?why?US?warships?are?unable?to?avoid?other?vessels?since?they?are?equipped?with?the?world's?most?sophisticated?radar?and?electronic?tracking?systems,?and?aided?by?crew?members?on?constant?watch.?
But?investigations?into?the?cause?of?the?USS?Fitzgerald?collision?shed?some?light?on?the?way?US?warships?tend?to?sail?without?observing?maritime?traffic?rules?and?the?sloppiness?of?their?crews.?According?to?the?Philippine?container?ship's?captain,?it?signaled?with?flashing?lights?after?the?Fitzgerald?"suddenly"?appeared?on?a?course?to?cross?its?path.?Yet?the?US?warship?did?not?respond?or?take?evasive?action.?
The?US?Navy?concluded?the?collision?was?the?result?of?"poor?seamanship?and?flaws?in?keeping?watch”?on?the?part?of?the?warship,?which?led?to?its?captain?and?two?other?senior?officers?being?removed?from?their?posts?and?administrative?actions?being?taken?against?members?of?the?watch?teams.?
The?investigations?into?the?latest?collision?will?take?time?to?reach?their?conclusions,?but?there?is?no?denying?the?fact?that?the?increased?activities?by?US?warships?in?Asia-Pacific?since?Washington?initiated?its?rebalancing?to?the?region?are?making?them?a?growing?risk?to?commercial?shipping;?this?is?the?third?collision?involving?a?US?naval?vessel?in?the?region?so?far?this?year.?And?a?US?guided?missile?cruiser?ran?aground?off?the?coast?of?Japan.?
While?the?US?Navy?is?becoming?a?dangerous?obstacle?in?Asian?waters,?China?has?been?making?joint?efforts?with?the?members?of?the?Association?of?Southeast?Asian?Nations?to?draw?up?a?Code?of?Conduct?for?the?South?China?Sea?and?it?has?boosted?navigational?safety?by?constructing?five?lighthouses?on?its?islands.?
Anyone?should?be?able?to?tell?who?is?to?blame?for?militarizing?the?waters?and?posing?a?threat?to?navigation.
美國海軍威脅亞洲航行安全?
美國海軍喜歡標榜自己的存在能夠幫助維護南海的“航行自由”。但事實證明，對于在亞洲海域航行的船只而言，美國海軍越來越像是一大阻礙。?
本周一（8月21日）清晨，美國海軍導(dǎo)彈驅(qū)逐艦“約翰?麥凱恩”號在馬六甲海峽東部海域與一艘石油和化學(xué)品運輸船相撞，導(dǎo)致船體嚴重受損、海水瞬間淹沒附近艙室。美國海軍方面發(fā)布的聲明稱，此次撞船事故致使4名水兵入院救治，另有10名水兵失蹤。?
石油和化學(xué)品運輸船上無人受傷，但船體前部受損嚴重。?
這是美國海軍艦船兩個月內(nèi)第二次發(fā)生撞船事故。6月17日，美國海軍驅(qū)逐艦“菲茨杰拉德”號在日本外海與一艘菲律賓籍貨船相撞，造成7名水兵喪生。?
人們可能很難理解，既然美軍戰(zhàn)艦配備了世界上最先進的雷達和電子追蹤系統(tǒng)，并且有船組人員時刻觀察四周情況，為什么還是無法避開其他船只呢？?
針對“菲茨杰拉德”號撞船原因的調(diào)查工作或許能夠暴露出一些問題，即美軍戰(zhàn)艦在航行過程中習慣無視海上交通規(guī)則，以及艦艇人員工作懈怠。據(jù)菲律賓籍貨船船長所述，“菲茨杰拉德”號“突然”出現(xiàn)并擋住貨船的去路，他們亮燈示警后，對方?jīng)]有任何回應(yīng)、也沒有采取規(guī)避措施。?
美國海軍近日得出結(jié)論稱，“菲茨杰拉德”號與貨船相撞，是因為船員“航海技術(shù)糟糕、執(zhí)勤時出現(xiàn)失誤”，決定撤銷艦長、副艦長和1名一級軍士長的職務(wù)，同時對多名官兵施以行政處分。?
針對最近撞船事故的調(diào)查工作還需要一段時間才能得出結(jié)論，但無可否認的事實是，自華盛頓方面啟動“亞太再平衡”戰(zhàn)略以來，美軍戰(zhàn)艦在該海域的活動日漸增加，給同一海域的商業(yè)航運帶來越來越大的風險。今年以來，美國海軍已經(jīng)三次在這片海域發(fā)生碰撞事故，還有一艘導(dǎo)彈巡洋艦在日本海岸擱淺。?
在美國海軍對亞洲海域的正常航行構(gòu)成威脅的同時，中國一直與東南亞國家聯(lián)盟成員國積極合作、共同起草“南海行為準則”。而且，中國還在南海建起5座大型燈塔，提升船舶航行安全保障能力。?
任何人都能清楚地分辨出，究竟誰才是推動南?！败娛禄钡脑獌?，誰才對該海域的航行活動構(gòu)成威脅。??
