Five US warships docked for a port call in Hong Kong yesterday in a sign that recent tensions between China and the US may be easing after flare-ups over an arms sale to Taiwan and a meeting with the Dalai Lama.
Carrying about 5,000 sailors, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and four other ships arrived in Hong Kong waters for a four-day rest stop after spending five months in the North Arabian Sea as a base for air combat missions in Afghanistan, the USS Nimitz public affairs office said in a statement.
Political analysts see Beijing’s approval of the port call as an indication that the Chinese government doesn’t want to let Sino-US relations deteriorate further, hampering cooperation on the global economy and other issues.
PHOTO: AP
With its abundance of foreigner-friendly restaurants, bars and shops, this former British colony has long been a favored stop for US warships, and Beijing has continued the tradition after Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule.
China blocked a long-scheduled port call by the USS Kitty Hawk in November 2007 at the last minute, denying thousands of sailors a Thanksgiving reunion with families and friends who had flown to the city. Some analysts viewed the move as retaliation after the US Congress awarded its highest civilian honor to the Dalai Lama.
Yet Beijing has allowed the USS Nimitz carrier strike group to stop in Hong Kong — despite a threat to suspend military-to-military exchanges after the recent approval of an arms sale to Taiwan. It also hasn’t followed through on another threat to retaliate against US companies involved in the sale.
The commander of the strike group declined to comment on the politics behind the port call yesterday.
“For us, this is a routine port visit,” Rear Admiral John W. Miller told reporters. “We requested the port visit through normal channels and we’re certainly delighted that we received permission from [China’s] Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be able to come in.”
It’s unclear if Chinese military officials based in Hong Kong will visit the US warships. Miller said he would be hosting a reception on the ships yesterday evening, but referred questions about the guest list to the US consulate general in Hong Kong. Consulate general spokesman Matthew Dolbow said it is policy not to reveal guest names.
The visiting US sailors will tour Hong Kong Disneyland, the neighboring Chinese gambling enclave Macau and the southern Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou, the USS Nimitz said in a statement.
“Hong Kong is a vibrant city and a favorite port of call for our sailors,” Miller said. “We look forward to an enjoyable stay here.”
The USS Nimitz, which is based in San Diego, California, is traveling with the USS Chosin, the USS Pinckney, the USS Sampson and the USS Rentz.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
A group affiliated with indicted Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) is to be dissolved for monitoring Chinese immigrants in Taiwan, a source said yesterday. Xu, the secretary-general of the Cross-Strait Marriage and Family Service Alliance, was indicted on March 24 on charges of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法). The alliance “illegally monitored" Chinese immigrants living in Taiwan on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Ministry of the Interior is expected to dissolve the organization in the coming days under provisions of the Civil Associations Act (人民團體法), the source said. Xu, who married a Taiwanese in 1993 and became a Republic
RSS