U.S. ships kept from docking in Hong Kong
China's decision spoils the holiday for sailors and their families.
By Audrey McAvoy
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 11/22/2007 11:12:24 PM MST


HONOLULU — The top U.S. military commander in the Pacific said he's "perplexed and concerned" by China's last-minute decision to deny a U.S. aircraft carrier entry to Hong Kong for a previously scheduled port visit.

The USS Kitty Hawk and its escort ships were due to dock there for a four-day visit Wednesday until they were refused access. Hundreds of family members had flown to Hong Kong to spend Thanksgiving with their sailors.

"It's hard to put any kind of positive spin on this," Adm. Timothy Keating said Thursday while flying back to the U.S. after visiting troops in Iraq. "I'm perplexed and concerned."

China later said the ships could enter on humanitarian grounds, but the Kitty Hawk and its carrier battle group already were on their way back to their home ports. The vessels did not turn around.

It was the second time in a week that China refused to let U.S. Navy ships into the port. Two U.S. minesweepers seeking to refuel and shelter from bad weather in the South China Sea had asked for permission to enter Hong Kong three or four days before the Kitty Hawk. Those ships were denied, Keating said.

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