Evaluating the USS Connecticut’s Collision in the South China Sea

The U.S Naval Institute (USNI) broke the news of more than a dozen sailors getting reportedly hurt in the incident with non-life-threatening injuries [1]. The Navy did not immediately reveal the nature of the object and the precise location of the collision, except mentioning the wider Indo-Pacific region. Later, the official press release of the US Pacific Fleet stated that the submarine’s nuclear propulsion plant and spaces were not affected and remained fully operational while the extent of damage to the remainder of the submarine was still being assessed [2]. The incident has caused quite a stir in military circles with speculations over the extent of damage and the possibility of foul play.

The Collision

Considered one of the US Navy’s most capable and sensitive attack boats, the USS Connecticut was deployed to the Pacific Fleet on May 27th from its homeport at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton in Washington State. The U.S. Pacific Fleet operates in the Pacific Ocean and provides naval services to the U.S Indo-Pacific Command.

After the collision, the submarine was immediately sent to the US naval facility located in Guam for repair work. The satellite image of the submarine docked at the Guam facility, obtained by the War Zone shows no significant damage to the boat [3]. “The collision occurred well below the submarine's surfaced waterline, such as on the bottom of its hull,” War Zone claimed.

Even after a week of the collision, the U.S Navy did not reveal the strange object, but some officials confirmed that it was not another submarine. Due to the delay in revealing the “unknown” object, Beijing accused Washington of threatening the security of the littoral states. China’s Ministry of National Defense questioned the intent of the U.S., adding that it deliberately delayed and concealed the details of the accident [4]. “Such an irresponsible approach and cover-up lack transparency and can easily lead to misunderstandings and misjudgments. China and the neighbouring countries in the South China Sea have to question the truth of the incident and the intentions behind it,” said Tan Kefei, spokesperson of China’s Ministry of National Defense. China’s response to the incident stems from its position against the U.S carrying out freedom of navigation exercises including aircraft carriers, strategic bombers, and nuclear submarines in the contested South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. Chinese academics have even compared the actions of the U.S to the Chinese idiom from the Warring States period: ???? (shi chu wu ming), which means to dispatch troops without a righteous cause [5]. The Pentagon immediately denied the accusations levelled by the Chinese, with the Pentagon spokesperson adding that “it’s an odd way of covering something up when you put out a press release about it” [6].

On November 1st, after nearly a month of the incident, the US Navy revealed the object to be a “seamount” that reportedly grounded the attack boat. [7]. Interestingly, none of the official statements mention the location as the South China Sea. After more than a month of damage assessment repairs at the Guam facility, the boat went underway off the coast last week. Running on its own power, the damage seems to be restricted to the forward portions and the ballast tanks, as per the USNI News [8]. The submarine is expected to go into the repair schedules of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, which is already suffering a backlog of maintenance.

The Aftermath of the Collision

Until November 1st, media organisations and analysts were full of speculations on whether there was a deliberate attempt to damage the U.S submarine. All fingers pointed directly at China, accusing it of monopolising the South China Sea by creating artificial islands and threatening the littoral states. After the statement that the damage was caused by an underwater seamount, the military circles have shifted their fingers to the U.S Navy, questioning its competency without letting China off the hook.

Post the collision, the U.S. 7th Fleet commander Vice Adm. Karl Thomas relieved Connecticut’s commanding officer, executive officer and chief of the boat “due to loss of confidence” following the collision [9]. “Thomas determined sound judgement, prudent decision-making, and adherence to required procedures in navigation planning, watch team execution and risk management could have prevented the incident,” the U.S Navy said in a statement.

Moreover, this isn’t the first time that a U.S submarine has been damaged [10]. One of the worst collisions to occur in the 21st century was in 2005 when USS San Francisco, a Los Angeles-class attack submarine, struck a seamount about 350 miles (563 kilometres) south of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, killing one sailor and injuring 97 others among the crew. Another such incident occurred in November 2015 when the USS Georgia, an Ohio-class guided-missile submarine, struck a channel buoy and was grounded as it was returning to port in Kings Bay, Georgia sustaining more than $1 million in damage.

Another significant issue that has come to light is the rise of militarisation in the South China Sea. The collision of a strategic weapon such as the nuclear submarine increases the potentiality of turning the South China Sea into troubled waters. One of the spillover effects of the U.S-China rivalry has been the SCS region, which has seen increased patrolling by the U.S and the navies of the allied countries. In addition to China continuing to reclaim more land and build artificial islands to sustain its stronghold in the disputed waters, less than 50% of the sea bottom in the SCS region has been mapped which makes it harder for underwater systems to operate. With a lack of crisis management between the two, experts fear the potential danger of nuclear leakage or a Cold War confrontation which is highly detrimental for regional peace.

References

[1] https://news.usni.org/2021/10/07/breaking-attack-submarine-uss-connecticut-suffers-underwater-in-pacific

[2] https://www.cpf.navy.mil/News/Article/2797630/statement-regarding-uss-connecticut-ssn-22/

[3] https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/42851/this-is-our-first-look-at-the-uss-connecticut-after-its-underwater-collision

[4] https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202110/1236732.shtml

[5] https://thediplomat.com/2021/11/uss-connecticuts-collision-proves-the-need-for-china-us-crisis-management/

[6] https://news.usni.org/2021/10/12/pentagon-denies-chinese-accusation-of-cover-up-in-nuclear-attack-submarine-crash

[7] https://www.c7f.navy.mil/Media/News/Display/Article/2829463/statement-regarding-uss-connecticut-ssn-22-command-investigation/

[8] https://news.usni.org/2021/11/18/uss-connecticut-underway-off-guam-after-undergoing-repairs

[9] https://news.usni.org/2021/11/04/uss-connecticut-co-xo-cob-relieved-over-collision-in-south-china-sea-due-to-lose-of-confidence

[10] https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/04/asia/submarine-uss-connecticut-accident-undersea-mountain-hnk-intl-ml-dst/index.html

Pic Courtesy-Darren Halstead at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)