Beijing, China - Aug 21, 2017
1. Yang Xiyu, senior fellow of China Institute of International Studies, during interview

Washington D.C., USA - Aug 21, 2017
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Steve Pruitt, managing partner of Watts Partners:
"It seems to me that somewhere in the command system, somebody is not following either a policy, a procedure, or certainly a protocol as it relates to navigation and other seamanship skills. So I think there is going to be I think a much broader review needed of U.S. operations in that region."

Beijing, China - Aug 21, 2017
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Yang Xiyu, Senior Fellow of China Institute of International Studies:
"They are really poor at management and disciplines especially in the case of the last accident nearby Japan. But although the four accidents have different reasons, but the poor disciplines and management in the U.S. Navy is obvious."
4. Yang Xiyu, senior fellow of China International Institute of International Studies, during interview

Experts believed that lack of seamanship skills is behind the recent U.S. warship collision with a merchant ship in the waters east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore early on Monday.

The U.S. guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with the Liberian-flagged merchant vessel Alnic MC Monday morning, when it was transiting to a routine port visit in Singapore.

Ten U.S. sailors are missing and five others injured in the incident, while search and rescue efforts are underway.

In fact, this is the second serious collision involving the U.S. Navy ship in recent months.

The first goes to June 17, when the destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a container ship off Japan, resulting in the deaths of seven U.S. sailors.

Besides, there were two other incidents involving the cruiser USS Antietam in late January, and USS Lake Champlain on May 9.

According to Steve Pruitt, managing partner of Watts Partners, the incident is possibly a result of violation of relevant navigation policies of U.S. sailors on the warship.

"It seems to me that somewhere in the command system, somebody is not following either a policy, a procedure, or certainly a protocol as it relates to navigation and other seamanship skills," he said from Washington.

He further pointed out that a serious review of U.S. warship operations in that area is of critical importance in reducing the number of similar incidents.

"I think there is going to be I think a much broader review needed of U.S. operations in that region," Pruitt added.

Regarding the deep-seated reasons behind the frequency of collisions cases by U.S. warships in recent months, Yang Xiyu, senior fellow of the China Institute of International Studies, pointed out a few points.

According to him, the first reason may be poor management and disciplines within the U.S. Navy.

"They are really poor at management and disciplines especially in the case of the last accident nearby Japan. But although the four accidents have different reasons, but the poor disciplines and management in the U.S. Navy is obvious," said Yang.

He further noted that too frequent navigation activities of the warships may be another cause. The collision site is considered as the busiest and most important waterways in the world that carry a quarter of the world's trade in goods and oil. There should be some limitations to the navigation frequency.

Pruitt further added that only when there is a new policy or discipline in place governing the frequency in the region could similar cases be prevented.

The U.S. Navy has claimed to protect the security of its allies in the region and has conducted patrols to safeguard the so-called freedom of navigation on a frequent basis.

However, the activities may have gone the opposite direction based on the four incidents starting from this year.