USS Kitty Hawk turned away from Hong Kong

[capt_starlight]

US angry over China's Kitty Hawk block

 

he US Defence Department has lodged a formal protest with China over its decision to turn away a US aircraft carrier from Hong Kong.

 

The USS Kitty Hawk was sailing towards Hong Kong last week for the Thanksgiving holiday but the Chinese turned the ship away, offering no explanation.

 

The Pentagon has lodged a formal protest over the incident, describing it as "baffling and regrettable".

 

It is also angry over China's recent decision to turn away two US minesweepers seeking refuge in Hong Kong from a heavy storm.

 

China's Foreign Minister has told US President George Bush the Kitty Hawk incident was a misunderstanding.

 

I am most interested in the second last paragraph. I would have though it a basic courtesy to grant "safe harbour" in the circumstances.

[capt_starlight]

More on it from the BBC US protest at China navy refusal

[Guest aevans]

The US probably did something recently to annoy the Chinese, so they annoy us back.

[Bluelight]

The fire starts small, and then it grows ... all we need now is some fuel.

Edited November 29, 2007 by Bluelight

[JWB]

The fire starts small, and then it grows ... all we need now is some fuel.

What fire? This is just a bunch immature posturings.

[Corinthian]

The Chinese didn't want the KH to arrive at HK because it was just too easy. They wanted a challenge, i.e. to have one of their subs stalk, penetrate then surface inside the KH BG to embarrass the USN once again. Letting the KH to enter HK would give the USN plausible deniability that a PLAN sub managed to enter carrier's escort screen, letting the USN with the excuse "It was there all along, just waiting for us."

 

Edited November 29, 2007 by TomasCTT

[Jim Martin]

Sure glad the Brits allowed a Communist dictatorship to take control of Hong Kong....

[Jim Martin]

And if we had listened to you guys in 1945, they would have had it even sooner.

 

Hey, do I look or sound like Harry Truman to you?

 

Okay, I live in Missouri...but the other side of the state.

[Paul in Qatar]

Yahoo News, whoever they are, are reporting:

BEIJING - China's last-minute cancellation of a U.S. Navy visit to Hong Kong was not the result of a misunderstanding, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday, adding that ties had been "disturbed and harmed" by Congress' honoring of the Dalai Lama and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

 

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Spokesman Liu Jianchao denounced an earlier report from Washington that said Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told President Bush the incident was a misunderstanding.

 

But Liu offered no concrete explanation as to why China barred the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and its escort vessels from entering Hong Kong harbor for a planned Thanksgiving visit.

 

"The report is not in line with the facts," Liu said at a regular news briefing.

 

He refused to elaborate, but his negative characterization of U.S.-China relations appeared to indicate that Beijing had canceled the visit deliberately in order to register its displeasure over U.S. actions, as it has done occasionally with previous Hong Kong port calls.

 

Liu said "erroneous" actions on the part of the U.S. had "disturbed and harmed" relations.

 

He pointed to Congress' awarding its highest civilian honor to the Dalai Lama last month. Although the Tibetan spiritual leader is lauded in much of the world as a figure of moral authority, Beijing demonizes the monk and claims he seeks to destroy China's sovereignty by pushing for independence for Tibet.

 

Also hurting relations were arms sales to Taiwan, an island which China regards as a renegade province, he said.

 

A White House spokeswoman said she was surprised by the explanation.

 

"That was not the president's understanding from the meeting he had yesterday (with Yang). We are seeking clarification," press secretary Dana Perino said.

 

"The president was told was there was a miscommunication that could lead to a misunderstanding. I was told there was a misunderstanding. ... The linkage was not made (with the Dalai Lama)," she said.

 

The Global Times, a tabloid published by the official party mouthpiece People's Daily, cited an unidentified People's Liberation Army senior colonel, as blaming Washington's decision to sell Taiwan an anti-missile defense system.

 

That "obviously sent the wrong signals" to Taiwan's leader, Chen Shui-bian, whom China abhors for his campaign to assert the self-ruling island's independent identity, the paper quoted the colonel as saying.

 

"At a time when the U.S. side is seriously harming China's interests, there is no logic under heaven by which China should then be expected to open its heart and embrace it," the paper said Thursday.

 

Beijing also had refused port entry earlier that week to two U.S. Navy minesweepers seeking to refuel and shelter from an approaching storm.

 

China eventually decided to allow the Kitty Hawk strike group's visit to Hong Kong, but only after the ships had already left the area. They did not turn back, instead continuing on to their home port in Japan.

 

"We have all along, on the principle of sovereignty, approved (port calls) on a case by case basis. Out of humanitarian considerations, we agreed to allow the strike group to make a port call," Liu said.

 

The Defense Department lodged an official protest of the Chinese moves Wednesday.

 

 

So it was about the Chinese telling us who we can over to the house.

[Jim Martin]

That's okay, in a couple decades we'll vaporize their houses.

[TheSilentType]

They're a sovereign country and have the right to keep ships out of their ports.

 

That being said, it was a dick move on their part, and the US should do something equally obnoxious to the Chinese so that they don't think we're a bunch of push-overs.

[Colin]

Just tell a couple of their container ships that they will have to stand off US waters will their manifast are checked, should only take 48hrs.....

[Yish]

I'd have encouraged such visits in the Chinese's stead. Thousands of sailors off of a strategic vessel on unsupervised leave in their own back yard is an excellent recruitment opportunity for their intelligence services.

Edited November 29, 2007 by Yish

[Bluelight]

Just tell a couple of their container ships that they will have to stand off US waters will their manifast are checked, should only take 48hrs.....

 

I am sorry, there has been a paper work sanfu, your going to have to wait at least 2 weeks while we clear this up on why you had to wait 48 hours.

Edited November 30, 2007 by Bluelight

[A2Keltainen]

I'd have encouraged such visits in the Chinese's stead. Thousands of sailors off of a strategic vessel on unsupervised leave in their own back yard is an excellent recruitment opportunity for their intelligence services.

 

Do you think the sailors would fall for: "Hey, you got girlfriend Hong Kong? Me so horny. Me love you long time."

[Sikkiyn]

The US probably did something recently to annoy the Chinese, so they annoy us back.

 

Banning their toys with lead paint, and their tainted dog food, (millions of $ lost to them,) sound good.

 

 

*****

oh i forgot

*****

 

Le'Bird Flu

 

Indonesia will not share bird flu virus samples unless richer countries agree to give developing nations control over their use and access to cheap vaccines, a spokeswoman from the nation's health ministry said on Monday.

Indonesia wants a material transfer agreement for each virus sample sent to foreign labs, specifying that the sample will only be used for diagnostic purposes and not for commercial gain.

 

Under this proposal, any commercial use of the virus would require prior consent of the country providing it. By retaining the intellectual property rights, Indonesian officials say, a country could allow access to global vaccine stockpiles at an affordable price.

Edited November 30, 2007 by Sikkiyn

[Bluelight]

Indonesia will not share bird flu virus samples unless richer countries agree to give developing nations control over their use and access to cheap vaccines, a spokeswoman from the nation's health ministry said on Monday.

 

...

 

Indonesia wants a material transfer agreement for each virus sample sent to foreign labs, specifying that the sample will only be used for diagnostic purposes and not for commercial gain.

 

Under this proposal, any commercial use of the virus would require prior consent of the country providing it. By retaining the intellectual property rights, Indonesian officials say, a country could allow access to global vaccine stockpiles at an affordable price.

 

That is unfortunate, since giving away costly vaccines as free really isn't in the money cards.

 

I wonder how one could go about containing the spread of any such virus to say, Indonesia? After all, if we don't have the cure, the next best bet is to quarantine.

[Sikkiyn]

But it gets better yet.

Note this isn't a bash China thread, but a probable tit-for-tat?

 

About 7,100 Performax and Wilton 10-inch sliding miter saws, manufactured in China by WMH Tool Group Inc., because the switch on the handle can fail, causing the saw to smoke, spark, trip circuit breakers and disable the safety brake. The saw could continue to run until it is unplugged. All of this poses a risk of cuts. The company has received six reports of problems with the saws, but no reports of injuries. The saws were sold at home and hardware stores around the country between August 2006 and March 2007.

About 57,000 "Power Bolt" Y-Frame and Ultimate Y-Frame Adjustable Pitchbacks, imported by Dick's Sporting Goods and made in China, because the upper portion of the frame can collapse after both locking pins are removed, posing a laceration hazard. Dick's Sporting Goods has received three reports of finger and hand laceration injuries. The recalled products, made by Hierarch Enterprises Co., have a Y-shaped metal frame with attached netting that will return a thrown ball to the user. The products were sold at Dick's Sporting Goods stores nationwide and on its Web site.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 26, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - For weeks the US Food and Drug Administration has been warning the American public about tainted Chinese imports of contaminated pet food, poisonous toothpaste, and an outbreak of botulism. However the federal agency has failed thus far to issue warnings over the possible contamination of RU-486, a chemical abortion pill made exclusively in China, which has led to at least 6 documented deaths in North America and hundreds of severe adverse effects in women.

Mattel Announcing 2nd China Recall

 

China said last week that nearly a fifth of the food and consumer products it checked in a nationwide survey this year were found to be substandard or tainted. The announcement came amid a growing scandal over the safety of Chinese-made exports, and follows a series of international recalls.

 

(2007-11-16) — Chinese authorities today announced a sweeping recall of garments manufactured with asbestos, including the pantsuit worn by Sen. Hillary Clinton during last night’s Democrat presidential debate.

 

To name a very small few.

Edited November 30, 2007 by Sikkiyn

[Josh]

Do you think the sailors would fall for: "Hey, you got girlfriend Hong Kong? Me so horny. Me love you long time."

 

Uh...yes. I think that's all it would take. Hell that's all it would take for me right now and I hit the bars most nights and sleep with someone every couple of nights. Put me in steel box with mostly men and no privacy for a few months? She would probably pick me up just using pictograms.

[Xavier]

Just tell a couple of their container ships that they will have to stand off US waters will their manifast are checked, should only take 48hrs.....

I don't think WalMart will like that idea anymore than the chinese will

[Junior FO]

...

Edited September 19, 2024 by Junior FO

[Jeff]

They're a sovereign country and have the right to keep ships out of their ports.

 

That being said, it was a dick move on their part, and the US should do something equally obnoxious to the Chinese so that they don't think we're a bunch of push-overs.

They changed their mind at the last moment and the USN said "no thanks, and BTW, we'll be sailing the Taiwan Straits on our way home" for the first time in 5 years. Someone in the Navy deserves a pat on the back for those two decisions.

[Josh]

They changed their mind at the last moment and the USN said "no thanks, and BTW, we'll be sailing the Taiwan Straits on our way home" for the first time in 5 years. Someone in the Navy deserves a pat on the back for those two decisions.

 

 

Hah, nice one. Where'd you see that?

[Jason]

They're a sovereign country and have the right to keep ships out of their ports.

 

That being said, it was a dick move on their part, and the US should do something equally obnoxious to the Chinese so that they don't think we're a bunch of push-overs.

What, like destroy our economy by refusing to buy billions of dollars in cheaply made goods that are contaminated with lead?

[Ariete!]

The specific ship incident is part of the routine tit-for-tat that runs as an undercurrent in China-US relations.

 

The ‘West’ in general and the US specifically have almost always gotten then short end of the sh!t stick in all their dealings with China (trade being but one example). Running literal circles around US diplomats and CEOs.

 

As the principal long-term potential (note: potential) adversary of the US, the Chinese regime should be treated with considerably more, subtle, hostility.

 

The industrial revolution that ahs enabled China to avoid mass unrest ahs been enabled entirely but the supine attitude of Western importers/consumers.