Posted on 11/21/2007 7:23:11 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has unexpectedly denied the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and its accompanying ships entry to Hong Kong port for a long-planned Thanksgiving holiday visit, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.
"At present, it appears the USS Kitty Hawk strike group will not be making a port call in Hong Kong as previously planned as a result of a last minute denial by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs," State Department spokeswoman Nicole Thompson said.
China gave no reason was for the denial, Thompson said.
The United States is pressing Chinese authorities for an explanation and to reconsider its decision, she added.
The Financial Times newspaper said the Kitty Hawk group and its crew of 8,000 U.S. airmen and sailors had been expected in Hong Kong on Wednesday, but now would spend the holiday on the South China Sea.
A U.S. Navy spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Yea and they own the GOP too and I'm not kidding. Of course our elected having family dealing in China is OK as long as it's wink, wink, the GOP doing it.
Good idea.
Give the Brits some credit. They and other commonwealth forces liberated Hong Kong peacefully on August 15, 1945.
You are right. It was only fitting that the British should be the ones, HK was, after all, a British colony. However, it would not have been possible without the US Navy. It was their liberation of the Philippines and surrounding seas that made it possible.
Has anyone else noticed that it’s getting easier to buy products not made in China? I bought a number of items at Ace today, not one made in China. Two were even made in the USA.
Well, that ought to show them we aren't pleased!
I hope they aren't too ofended! (sarcasm)
Thank you for your service, Sir.
Regards,
All U.S. Navy port calls are scheduled months in advance, (nrmally before leaving the U.S.)so this was a snub of the U.S. Usually, there is a confirmation of the arrival of the Navy ship one to two weeks ahead of the port visit by the State Department so that the tugs, food delivery, fuel and water/electricity can be formalized and payments arranged. In Hong Kong the ships anchor in the harbor and require shuttle boats to be hired to transport the liberty party to the pier.
Is China trying to hide something? Possibly related to a shipment to Iran?
China naval ship making Japan port call
"The Shenzhen's crew is also scheduled to visit Japan's naval headquarters in Tokyo, and then the ship will make a call at Yokosuka, a port at the entrance to Tokyo Bay which also has the largest U.S. naval base outside the United States."
The Kennedy had to be retired out of sequence. The Kennedy had originally been set to replace the Kitty Hawk in Japan, with the Kennedy scheduled to be retired in 2018.
The Kitty Hawk is due to be replaced by the Bush when it comes on line, but the Navy will remain one carrier short.
In connection with the Kennedy being scrapped, an agreement was reached with Japan to eventually replace the Kitty Hawk with a nuclear carrier.
This event is just the addition of one more instrument to the orchestra, Pretty soon the orchestra is going to start playing and no one is going to like any of the music that is being made. To many world events both political and economic are being played towards us and it’s happening at a more frequent pace.
Last I heard G. Washington will replace KH in Yokosuka next year. There is talk of keeping KH in commission until Bush comes online just to keep the CV numbers up.
Just a snippet here:
<<8000名美国水兵和飞行员今日将在中国南海上度过一个孤独的感恩节，此前中国政府出人意料地拒绝美国“小鹰号”航空母舰(USS Kitty Hawk)进入香港港口。 这艘航空母舰及所属战斗群原本预计在昨日早晨感恩节假日来临前抵达香港。但五角大楼发言人布赖恩•惠特曼(Bryan Whitman)表示，中国在最后时刻拒绝了此次访问，并且未作解释。 “小鹰号”上水兵们的家人已涌向香港，但却扑了个空。“小鹰号”驻扎在日本的横须贺。美国领事人员不得不为失望的（水兵）亲属另行提供假日安排。 尽管最近中美军事关系不断升温，在美国国防部长罗伯特•盖茨(Robert Gates)本月早些时候访问北京期间，这一关系似乎稳定地走上了正轨，但仍发生了此次出人意料的事件。 不过，在（中美）两大太平洋强国之间，存在着诸多的潜在摩擦源。中国政府最近公开谴责美国拟向台湾出售一套价值9.4亿美元的“爱国者-2”(Patriot II)反导设备升级系统，并表示这是对中国内政的“粗暴干涉”，干扰了中美关系的改善和发展。 美国总统乔治•布什(George W. Bush)前亚洲事务高级顾问迈克尔•格林(Michael Green)表示：“中国政府需要知道，这些无端的、针锋相对的措施，会反过来对他们产生（同样的）影响。” 他补充称，考虑到美中高级海军军官计划于下月出席在罗得岛新港美国海军战争学院(US naval war college)召开的一次会议，探讨海事透明度及合作问题，（中方）此举颇具讽刺意味。 中国外交部拒绝置评，入港访问必须得到外交部的正式同意。 >>
That appears correct. I didn't remember which ship, and didn't bother to look it up at the time. It was my understanding that the Kitty Hawk would stay in service until the Bush was ready for service, but I thought that that would be in 2008. It looks like the Bush now is set for commissioning in 2009, and won't be ready for duty until 2010. It appears that the changeover in Japan is scheduled for next year, so the Kitty Hawk may end its career in limited service stateside. Jacksonville should probably make a try for it.
A big shopping day is coming up. I’ll see if I can find something NOT made in China.
But...the lead. It would create an environmental disaster!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.