U.S. Navy relieves Seventh Fleet
commander in wake of collisions in Asia
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[August 23, 2017]
By Phil Stewart and Tim Kelly
WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy
on Wednesday said it had removed Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral
Joseph Aucoin after a series of collisions involving its warships in
Asia as the search goes on for 10 sailors missing since the latest
mishap.
Aucoin's removal comes after a pre-dawn collision between a
guided-missile destroyer and a merchant vessel east of Singapore and
Malaysia on Monday, the fourth major incident in the U.S. Pacific Fleet
this year.
"Admiral Scott Swift, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, today relieved
the commander of Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, due to a
loss of confidence in his ability to command," the U.S. Navy said in a
press release.
Swift, who traveled to Japan to relieve Aucoin, ordered his deputy
Pacific Fleet commander, Rear Admiral Phil Sawyer, to immediately take
command of the powerful U.S. force.
Aucoin was due to step down next month, with Sawyer, a submariner by
trade, already slated to succeed him. Aucoin came up through the Navy's
air wing as an F-14 navigator.
"I support Admiral Swift's decision to bring in new leadership. The new
Seventh Fleet Commander must help move his team forward, focusing
efforts on safe and effective operations," U.S. Navy Chief of Naval
Operations Admiral John Richardson said in a statement.
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The Seventh Fleet, headquartered in Japan, operates as many as 70 ships,
including the U.S. Navy's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, and
has around 140 aircraft and 20,000 sailors.
It operates over an area of 124 million square km (48 million square
miles) from bases in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
TENSE TIMES
The accident involving the USS John S. McCain and the tanker Alnic MC in
the Singapore Strait came at a tense time for the U.S. Navy in Asia.
This month, the John S. McCain sailed within 12 nautical miles of an
artificial island built by China in the disputed South China Sea, the
latest "freedom of navigation" operation to counter what the United
States sees as China's efforts to control the contested waters.
An official Chinese newspaper said on Tuesday the U.S. navy's latest
collision shows it is becoming an increasing risk to shipping in Asia
despite its claims of helping to protect freedom of navigation.
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![](../images/082317pics/news_d7.jpg)
Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, U.S. 7th Fleet Commander, speaks to
media on the status of the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Fitzgerald,
damaged by colliding with a Philippine-flagged merchant vessel, and
the seven missing Fitzgerald crew members, at the U.S. naval base in
Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Japan June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Toru
Hanai/File photo
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Also this month, North Korea threatened to fire ballistic missiles
towards the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam in a standoff over its
nuclear and missile programs.
"Losing another ship now is bad timing. It may raise concern over
America's defensive capabilities and it could send the wrong signal
to North Korea and China," a senior Japanese Maritime Self Defence
Force officer said, asking not to be identified because he is not
authorized to talk to the media.
An international search-and-rescue operation involving aircraft,
divers and vessels from the United States, Singapore, Malaysia,
Indonesia, and Australia is looking for the 10 U.S. sailors missing
since Monday's collision.
On Tuesday, U.S. Navy and Marine Divers found human remains inside
sealed sections of the damaged hull of the USS John S McCain, which
is moored at Singapore's Changi Naval Base. The Navy has not yet
announced the identities of the bodies discovered.
The U.S. Navy is also working to identify a body found by the
Malaysian navy about eight nautical miles northwest of the collision
site. Photos posted on the Twitter account of a Malaysian navy
frigate on Wednesday showed crew carrying what appeared to be a body
to a U.S. Navy helicopter.
The latest collision has already prompted a fleet-wide investigation
and plans for temporary halts in U.S. Navy operations.
The John S. McCain's sister ship, the USS Fitzgerald, almost sank
off the coast of Japan after colliding with a Philippine container
ship on June 17. The bodies of seven U.S. sailors were found in a
flooded berthing area after that collision.
(Additional reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo in TOKYO, writing by Sam
Holmes and Lincoln Feast; Editing by Paul Tait and Himani Sarkar)
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