Washington (dpa) - China says its refusal to let a US aircraft carrier dock in Hong Kong for the Thanksgiving holiday was a "misunderstanding," the White House said Wednesday.


By the time China reversed its decision last Thursday under US prodding, the USS Kitty Hawk with some 8,000 US service members aboard was steaming back to Japan after 24 hours in limbo.


US President George W Bush raised the issue with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during a White House meeting Wednesday that included talks on Iran and North Korea, Bush's spokeswoman Dana Perino said.


"Foreign minister Yang assured the president that it was a misunderstanding," she told reporters. "I don't have details."


China gave no detailed reason for its initial refusal to allow the ship into Hong Kong. The move stranded some 300 family members who had flown to the former British colony and infuriated businesses that stood to make millions during the planned four-day port call.


US vessels are normally denied access to visit Hong Kong at times of military tension with China, for instance after a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet collided over Hainan Island in 2001.


Relations currently are comparatively good, but the US irked China in October when Bush received the Dalai Lama at the White House and presented the Tibetan spiritual leader with a congressional medal.

And what do you know? Chinese's naval ship visited Japan for the first time. China is going to take Taiwan after they make Japan to be on their side instead of the US's

misunderstanding = 1. whoever the initial decision maker has not clue as to the importance of thanksgiving day; 2. PLA did not notify anyone regarding the military exercise... air traffic control personnel or even foreign affairs system were notified at last min.  Beijing cannot admit that out loud, so use the word "misunderstanding" to summarize them all.

no matter what, damages had been done.  As far as I know, NBC and CNN (US) carried that story

There shouldn't be any misunderstanding.

1) There was no reason why they shouldn't let the ship to port in HK.
2) They should have arranged or notified with the authority ahead of time already. So it's not like they just showed up at the door step.

But nothing significant or anything we don't know already.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/11/28/us.china/index.html

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WASHINGTON (CNN)  -- The United States has filed a formal protest with China over the decision to deny port visits to a U.S. aircraft carrier and two other ships last week, an incident a Pentagon spokesman Wednesday called "baffling."
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The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk returns to the Yokosuka U.S. naval base Tuesday.
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China's military attache, Maj. Gen. Zhao Ning, received a message of "deep regret and concern" from David Sedney, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for east Asia, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell said. Zhao "said nothing substantive in response but promised to relay the message back to Beijing," Morrell told reporters.

U.S. President George W. Bush also discussed the issue in a Wednesday meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who described the incident as "a misunderstanding," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Chinese authorities canceled a scheduled Thanksgiving port call in Hong Kong for the Japan-based aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk just hours before it was supposed to dock. The cancellation was "a costly inconvenience to the families who had traveled there to spend Thanksgiving with their loved ones on board," Morrell said.

And two days beforehand, Chinese authorities also denied permission for the minesweepers USS Patriot and USS Guardian to ride out a storm in Hong Kong's harbor. The Navy's Pacific Fleet commander, Adm. Timothy Keating, called that decision "more disturbing" Tuesday.

"They suffered no damage," Keating said. "But this is a kind of an unwritten law among seamen that if someone is in need, regardless of genus, phylum or species, you let them come in. You give them safe harbor. Jimmy Buffett has songs about it, for crying out loud."

China recently has expressed concerns about U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and Bush's October presentation of a Congressional gold medal to the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
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    * U.S. commander "perplexed" by decision

But Morrell said he was unaware of any "hiccups" in U.S.-Chinese military ties.

"I think that's why this incident is so baffling to us, because there is no indication at all prior to the Kitty Hawk being refused entry to the Port of Hong Kong that there was any reason or any cause for concern," he said.
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I don't see any coverage about how US is protesting.

[ Last edited by  escritic at 30-11-2007 05:20 ]

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/1 ... ml?iref=mpstoryview

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- China has refused nine U.S. Navy ships and one Air Force jet entry to Hong Kong in the past month, U.S. military officials said Friday.
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China has refused the USS Reuben James, seen in a 1989 photo, a Christmas port call in Hong Kong.

Senior Navy officials said that Beijing denied permission for the USS Reuben James, a Navy frigate, to make a holiday port call for sailors at the end of December.

The rejection occurred last week, at the same time China refused to allow the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier battle group into Hong Kong for a Thanksgiving holiday port call.

A U.S. Air Force C-17 flight that had been scheduled for a routine resupply of the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong also was denied permission to enter, Navy officials said.

The Kitty Hawk battle group was eventually granted permission to enter, but by then the ships were well on their way to port in Japan.

Days earlier, China refused to give two U.S. Navy minesweepers safe harbor in Hong Kong during a storm on the high seas.

The United States has filed a formal protest with China over the decisions.

U.S. officials are baffled about the reason or reasons for the port call refusals. China recently has expressed concerns about U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and President Bush's October presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. Video Watch China put the blame on the U.S. »
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    * China: Relations "disturbed and harmed"
    * U.S. protests China's port refusal

There is speculation that the Chinese may have been conducting military exercises that they didn't want the U.S. Navy to see. Others think the refusals may have been the result of a misunderstanding.

Officials could not explain why the rejection of the Reuben James had not been disclosed before, even though reporters had repeatedly asked if there were any other pending port calls. One senior Navy official expressed dismay that the information had not been made public by the Pentagon.

White House deputy spokesman Scott Stanzel told reporters the White House is "aware" of the latest refusals and referred reporters to the Pentagon. Stanzel said a "clarification" on the matter was being sought from Beijing.

White House and other Bush administration officials have sought to defuse tensions with China, saying the United States wants to move ahead on broader issues of military cooperation.

Navy officials, meanwhile, say Japan is tightening approvals for Chinese navy visits into its ports. Crew members from a Chinese ship making a port call in Japan may not be allowed to tour a Japanese Aegis warship.
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The U.S.-designed Aegis weapons system enables coordinated operations against threats from aircraft and missiles, surface ships and submarines.

It is not clear if the Japanese decision was made at the request of the United States.
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