Turns out it was more than just the Kitty Hawk:
According to a defense official, a request for the USS Reuben James, a Navy frigate, to make a New Year’s holiday stop in Hong Kong was formally denied by the Chinese last Thursday. The denial came the same day the Chinese turned away the USS Kitty Hawk and five ships accompanying it for a Thanksgiving port call.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the denial has not been publicly announced, said the Reuben James, based in Pearl Harbor, had made the port visit request in October.
I made two trips to Hong Kong aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and understand the anger these sailors must be feeling right now. Hong Kong is a great port. But there is a bigger problem than the hurt feelings of a few thousand sailors.
In addition to the Kitty Hawk and the Reuben James, the Chinese also refused to let two Navy minesweepers enter Hong Kong harbor to escape an approaching storm and receive fuel — an incident Navy officials said it found far more disturbing since it violates an international rule of the sea to provide safe harbor for vessels in trouble.
The minesweepers, the Patriot and the Guardian, were instead refueled at sea and returned safely to their home port in Japan.
It’s getting more and more serious with this communist state. We need to roll up our sleeves and start dealing with them, before it’s too late. Red China is a threat, and I don’t mean just lead tainted toys. And with Russia looking more and more like the old Soviet Union, this could get a lot worse before it gets better.
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