It was the second such accident to take place in recent months, following an incident on June 17 in which the John S McCain’s sister ship, the Fitzgerald, almost sank off the coast of Japan after colliding with a Philippine container ship.
It was also the fourth major accident for the US Pacific Fleet this year.
According to a CBN News report, Navy leaders are not ruling out the possibility of a cyberattack on the vessel’s electronic defences.
“We’re looking at every possibility and leaving nothing to chance,” chief of naval operations, Navy Admiral John Richardson, was quoted as saying.
He added that he had directed a more comprehensive review to ensure that the contributing factors and root causes of the incidents could be determined.
Following the incident early Monday morning, Richardson had said there was no indication that the collision was intentional.
He added that the Navy would examine “every possibility” from training to possible radar jamming and cyber interference.
CBN News quoted author Bill Gertz, who is also the senior editor for the Washington Free Beacon, as saying it was “not impossible” that the destroyer’s electronic defences had been hacked.
“Navy warships like the USS McCain have incredible radar that reaches out 20 miles.
“In this case, something went wrong. The Chinese have stolen Aegis technology and they’ve incorporated that into their own Aegis style ships. So they could have an understanding of how the electronics on that ship work,” he said in the report.
China’s possible involvement in the collision was also highlighted in a report by The Australian, in which a former Navy officer who declined to be named linked the incident with the movements of Chinese vessel Guang Zhou Wan.
The report cited tracking data indicating that the tanker which collided with the warship was followed by the Chinese ship, which allegedly steered clear before the crash.
Ten sailers were reported missing after the collision, the impact of which tore a hole in the warship’s port side at the waterline, flooding compartments that included a crew sleeping area.
Divers have recovered two bodies so far.