US Seventh Fleet commander replaced after deadly Pacific collision

Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, commander of the US Seventh Fleet, has been dismissed days after a collision in the Pacific that led to speculation the US Navy may be overstretched in Asia.

His dismissal was the result of a "loss of confidence in his ability to command", the US Navy said in a terse two-line statement. He was due to retire in weeks.

The Financial Times says the collision prompted suggestions that the US Navy may be over-extended in Asia, or that "vessels may have been victims of cyber attacks".

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A senior military consultant close to the US and Japanese leadership told the paper that the Japanese marine self-defence force would be "worried about the spectacle of the US seemingly under strain and unable to operate safely in peacetime."

On Monday, the USS John S McCain collided with the Liberian-flagged Alnic MC in the Strait of Malacca east of Singapore as it was preparing to approach the port. The crash injured five and left ten sailors missing presumed dead. Some of their bodies have since been recovered.

The Singapore incident is the second collision in the Pacific since June when seven sailors aboard the USS Fitzgerald died off the coast of Japan. It's the fourth accident involving the Seventh Fleet since January.

"While each of these four incidents is unique, they cannot be viewed in isolation," Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Scott Swift said yesterday in Singapore.

The Navy will now carry out a "deliberate re-set" of all ships in the Pacific, focused on navigation, mechanical systems and bridge resource management, the Associated Press reports.