US Navy ship docks in Hong Kong
Mon, 28 Jan 2008 06:08:54
USS Kitty Hawk was refused entry to Hong Kong in Nov
A US Navy warship arrives in Hong Kong, the first visit since Nov. when China refused entry to an aircraft carrier and two minesweepers.
The ship, the USS Blue Ridge, would stay a couple of days, a representative at the US Consulate in Hong Kong, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP.
The arrival of the ship comes two months after the USS Kitty Hawk and their strike groups carrying some 8,000 sailors were refused entry to the territory's deep water port. Hong Kong authorities said the ships did not have clearance from Beijing.
Earlier that month, two minesweepers running low on fuel and buffeted by winds in the South China Sea requested permission to wait out the storm in Hong Kong, but were also turned away.
No reasons were given by Beijing, although it later suggested the move was a reaction to Washington's decision to grant an award to Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, and to sell weapons to its rival Taiwan.
Beijing accuses the Dalai Lama of trying to split Tibet from China and frequently rails against any country that honors him or politicians who meet with him.
SG/RE
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