Posted on 11/22/2002 12:47:38 PM PST by SAMWolf
HONG KONG - A U.S. battle group led by the aircraft carrier USS Constellation arrived in Hong Kong on Friday for a four-day port call on its way to the Middle East amid a warming of military relations with China, despite Beijing's wariness over possible war with Iraq.
The battle group includes the guided-missile destroyers USS Higgins and USS Milius, guided-missile cruisers USS Valley Forge and USS Bunker Hill, the guided-missile frigate USS Thach and the combat support ship USS Rainier.
The port calls were approved by China's central government, which oversees Hong Kong's foreign and military affairs.
U.S.-China military relations appear to be improving after recent strains. Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan said Thursday that the two sides were seeking to finalize an agreement on resuming military exchanges, reached during a summit between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President George W. Bushlast month.
"The most important agreement reached was to resume military exchanges, including port calls and consultations at the ministerial level," Kong said.
As a step in that direction, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said Friday that the USS Paul F. Foster, a destroyer in the U.S. Seventh Fleet operating in the western Pacific, would arrive Sunday in the eastern Chinese port of Qingdao.
The visit will be the first port call to mainland China by a U.S. Navy ship since military ties were ruptured following the collision of a Washington state-based Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet in April 2001.
The Hong Kong Security Bureau has said the Constellation will leave Wednesday, followed two days later by the carrier USS Kitty Hawk, which is due to leave Dec. 3. The Kitty Hawk, fresh from military exercises in Japan, will be accompanied by the guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur and Spruance-class destroyer USS O'Brien.
The Rainier will remain behind to accompany the Kitty Hawk group, the Security Bureau said. Its destination was not disclosed — since the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington, U.S. officials have become more cautious about discussing movements of warships.
The visits will bring more than 11,000 U.S. crew members into Hong Kong — long a favored port of call in the region.
Beijing has shown a growing willingness to accommodate U.S. interests since Sept. 11, 2001, regardless of occasional flare-ups of tensions over perennial sore points, such as Taiwan, trade and human rights.
Despite the resumption of military ties with Washington, China is wary of using force against Iraq and as a veto-holding member of the U.N. Security Council pushed for a "political solution." Chinese officials have not said whether Beijing is among the countries the United States has lobbied for military backing in case of war. China has never contributed armed military peacekeepers to any U.N. operation.
Oh Wow...had I forgotton those names! Hong Kong is one of the BEST liberty ports, period.
Kowloon and Victoria Peak were highlights...I was last there in 1988...
Pookie & ME
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