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China Denies Another U.S. Warship Access to Hong Kong (Update1)
By Tony Capaccio and Ken Fireman
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- China has denied another American warship access to the port of Hong Kong, two senior U.S. defense officials said.
The Chinese rejection of a visit by the frigate USS Reuben James is the third such incident this month. Last week, according to Navy officials, the carrier USS Kitty Hawk and two minesweepers were denied entry to Hong Kong.
The rejection of the Reuben James's request to visit on New Year's Eve was communicated to the Navy last week around the same time the Kitty Hawk was turned away, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Reuben James will still go to the region, calling at a different port, one official said. He didn't name the port.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The rejections generated a diplomatic controversy earlier this week when the Defense Department lodged a formal protest and President George W. Bush raised the issue during a White House meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
Yang told Bush the Kitty Hawk incident was a misunderstanding, according to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman then denied the accuracy of that characterization and said U.S.-Chinese relations were damaged by Bush's recent meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader.
Famous Name
One senior U.S. defense official played down the significance of the controversy, saying port calls represented only a small part of the overall military relationship between the U.S. and China.
The Navy on average has conducted about 50 port calls a year at Hong Kong since 1997, when it reverted to Chinese control.
The Reuben James carries the name of an earlier vessel that was sunk in October 1941 by a German submarine while doing convoy duty in the North Atlantic. The ship became famous when folksinger Woody Guthrie wrote a song about the sinking.
The current Reuben James made an appearance in the movie ``The Hunt for Red October,'' according to its Web site.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net ; Ken Fireman in Washington at kfireman1@bloomberg.net
By Tony Capaccio and Ken Fireman
Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) -- China has denied another American warship access to the port of Hong Kong, two senior U.S. defense officials said.
The Chinese rejection of a visit by the frigate USS Reuben James is the third such incident this month. Last week, according to Navy officials, the carrier USS Kitty Hawk and two minesweepers were denied entry to Hong Kong.
The rejection of the Reuben James's request to visit on New Year's Eve was communicated to the Navy last week around the same time the Kitty Hawk was turned away, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Reuben James will still go to the region, calling at a different port, one official said. He didn't name the port.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The rejections generated a diplomatic controversy earlier this week when the Defense Department lodged a formal protest and President George W. Bush raised the issue during a White House meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.
Yang told Bush the Kitty Hawk incident was a misunderstanding, according to White House spokeswoman Dana Perino. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman then denied the accuracy of that characterization and said U.S.-Chinese relations were damaged by Bush's recent meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader.
Famous Name
One senior U.S. defense official played down the significance of the controversy, saying port calls represented only a small part of the overall military relationship between the U.S. and China.
The Navy on average has conducted about 50 port calls a year at Hong Kong since 1997, when it reverted to Chinese control.
The Reuben James carries the name of an earlier vessel that was sunk in October 1941 by a German submarine while doing convoy duty in the North Atlantic. The ship became famous when folksinger Woody Guthrie wrote a song about the sinking.
The current Reuben James made an appearance in the movie ``The Hunt for Red October,'' according to its Web site.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net ; Ken Fireman in Washington at kfireman1@bloomberg.net
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