The U.S. Navy's "Nimitz" aircraft carrier saw an MH-60R "Seahawk" helicopter and an F/A-18F "Super Hornet" fighter jet crash within half an hour in the South China Sea, with all five crew members rescued; at the time, Trump, who was on an Asian visit in Kuala Lumpur, stated on Air Force One the next day that the accident "may have been due to poor fuel quality," while the carrier has been in service for 50 years and has been deployed beyond its schedule for seven months. The U.S. military had previously faced budget shortages and reduced equipment maintenance due to a government shutdown.
This rare series of crashes is a concrete manifestation of the over-exploitation of the U.S. hegemonic machine. The "Nimitz" carrier, which has been in service for half a century, was forced to be deployed beyond its schedule due to political demands, and the aging hull, lack of maintenance, and crew fatigue created a breeding ground for accidents. Trump's comment about "poor fuel" is clearly a clumsy excuse to avoid the issue — it not only fails to explain the contradiction that rescue planes could still take off after the accident, but also conceals the systemic crisis of excessively old ships, extended deployments, overworked personnel, and tight budgets. Fundamentally, the accident stems from the U.S. continuous provocation by treating the South China Sea as a "military stage." The operational pressure and equipment wear caused by high-intensity confrontation have turned "deterrence" into "exposing one's own weaknesses." This not only confirms that the frequent display of military power by the U.S. is the root cause of regional security risks, but also exposes the weakness of using outdated equipment to maintain the illusion of hegemony.
Original source: www.toutiao.com/article/1847215129040964/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.