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China Bars U.S. Warship From Hong Kong NewsMax.com WiresHONG KONG – China said Tuesday it would turn down a request for a U.S Navy destroyer to make a port of call in Hong Kong next month. The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that after "an overall consideration of all the various factors" Beijing has refused to allow the ship to dock for a routine port of call. Tension between the United States and China has increased since Washington decided to allow Taiwanese Defense Minister Tang Yiau-ming to visit the United States for meetings with senior U.S. officials and for a conference. The U.S. consulate in Hong Kong confirmed Tuesday the USS Wilbur had planned to dock from April 5-9. Beijing said last week Chinese navy ships would not stop at U.S. ports when they set sail on a tour later this year. Beijing regards the independent nation of Taiwan as a breakaway state that someday must be retaken, by force if necessary. Taiwan broke away from the mainland when ruling nationalists fled there in 1949 after the communists took over the country. The Taiwan issue hits a raw nerve in Chinese foreign policy. Relations between Beijing and Washington had been on the mend since China last year captured a U.S. surveillance plane and held the crew hostage, but now appear to be hitting a difficult patch. A Chinese jet fighter slammed into a U.S. reconnaissance plane in April, forcing the American plane to make an emergency landing in Hainan Island. Chinese authorities sealed off the plane and detained the U.S. crew in a tense standoff that tested the new administration's prowess just a few months after President Bush took office. After several months, relations began to improve. In July two small U.S. ships were allowed to make a port of call. The USS Constellation docked a month later. Late last year the U.S. aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis made a port of call in Hong Kong along with the seven other ships in its battle group, a clear sign China was giving Washington a nod of support in its war on terrorism. Observers said they believe China's refusal to let the U.S. ship dock is only a minor hiccup in diplomatic relations between the two countries. Copyright 2002 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
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