USS Kitty Hawk "did not have approval to visit HK"

Source: Reuters

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The head of U.S. forces in the Pacific said on Thursday the USS Kitty Hawk, banned from entering Hong Kong in November, had not obtained final permission from China before setting off from its home base in Japan.

The aircraft carrier and its strike group were refused permission by Beijing to dock in Hong Kong for a long-planned Thanksgiving holiday visit in November, causing a bilateral row.

Asked if it had had approval to dock in Hong Kong, Admiral Timothy Keating said: "My understanding is it did not. It got close, the captain of the ship ... realised they didn't have permission so they turned around and started back home."

A bilateral agreement stipulates that the United States must apply for port visits at least 30 days in advance, while China should grant or reject such requests five days before arrival.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSHKG24699620080117?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

Good post. K&R.

Few people understand that odious regime is the greatest threat to US security on the planet.

And that our odious regime is their greatest threat also.

it could have cost them their lives if things turned hot in the Formosa straits


Report: Chinese ships confronted Kitty Hawk


snip
The carrier strike group encountered Chinese destroyer Shenzhen and a Song-class sub in the strait on Nov. 23, causing the group to halt and ready for battle, as the Chinese vessels also stopped amid the 28-hour confrontation, the Chinese-language daily reported.

The Kitty Hawk battle group had planned to pass the Thanksgiving holiday in Hong Kong as it had done in previous years, but China refused it entry without giving a reason.

By the time China reversed its decision, the U.S. ships had already turned around and headed for their home port in Japan. China later told the U.S. that its earlier refusal was a “misunderstanding.”

snip

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/kyo_china_080115/

Hey, lucky the filipino monkey only haunts the straits of Hormuz eh ?