Commander dismissed as navy announces ‘reset’
SINGAPORE: The United States Navy has dismissed the commander of the Asia-based 7th Fleet after a series of warship accidents raised questions about its operations in the Pacific Ocean.
A two-sentence statement said Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, had relieved Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin ’’due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.’’.
The move follows four accidents in the Pacific since late January, including two collisions that left sailors dead and missing.
Swift said the navy would carry out a ‘‘deliberate reset’' of all its ships in the Pacific, focused on navigation, mechanical systems and bridge resource management. It would include training and an expert assessment of each ship.
The navy said that Rear Admiral Phillip Sawyer, who had already been named as Aucoin’s successor, would assume command immediately.
On Tuesday, the destroyer USS John S McCain and an oil tanker collided off Singapore, injuring five sailors and leaving 10 others missing. Seven sailors died in June when the destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off Japan.
Swift, speaking in Singapore, where the McCain is now docked, said navy divers had found the remains of some of the missing sailors in a flooded compartment.
The 7th Fleet said a sea-based search east of Singapore was ‘‘expanding to encompass a greater area.’’
There were two lesser-known incidents in the first half of the year.
In January, the guided missile cruiser USS Antietam ran aground near Yokosuka in Japan, the home port of the 7th Fleet. In May, another cruiser, the USS Lake Champlain from the 3rd Fleet, had a minor collision with a South Korean fishing boat. – AP
Tipoff leads to van arrest
A Spanish man was detained by Dutch police yesterday after he was found driving a van with gas canisters near a Rotterdam venue where a rock concert was cancelled due to a threat of a possible attack. A judicial source in Spain said the tip resulted from an investigation by the Spanish Civil Guard that had been under way for some time and had no direct relation to the two vehicle attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils last week that killed 15 people. Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb said it was not clear whether the threat tip and the detection of the van were connected. The vehicle had Spanish licence plates and had been flagged for circling near the concert venue.
Dissident admits incitement
A Chinese dissident has admitted inciting a coup, in a court confession that many believe was scripted by the Beijing authorities to quell criticism and deter sympathetic activists. Jiang Tianyong, 46, was arrested after working with detained human rights lawyers, questioning whether they were being tortured, speaking to foreign media and encouraging the public to protest on their behalf. Jiang made the confession in a court in the southern city of Changsha yesterday. However, it is suspected that he made the statement because the Chinese authorities have detained his parents.
Dating shows banned
Dating shows are to disappear from Turkey’s television screens after the country’s broadcasting watchdog branded them harmful. Dating shows are hugely popular among older women in Turkey but have fallen foul of the conservative government’s morality drive. The Diyanet, the state religious body, says the shows ‘‘exploit family values and desecrate the family institution by stepping on it’’. Turkey’s dating shows are mild in comparison to those shown elsewhere, and usually focus on finding marriage partners, but tabloid newspapers frequently reveal details of contestants’ salacious pasts. In 2014, a 62-year-old contestant was kicked off one show after he revealed that he was looking for a new wife, having murdered both his old one and a former lover.