U.S.S. Kitty Hawk is towed by tug boats on arrival at its home port in Yokosuka, Japan on Tuesday Nov. 27, 2007 after being refused a Hong Kong port call by the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Katsumi Kasahara)
by Frank James, updated at 3:40 pm with White House response
The saying "Any port in a storm" may resonate with mariners and even landlubbers around the world but apparently they're not the ones calling the shots inside the Chinese government.
The U.S. Navy is apparently fighting mad with China because of a recent incident in which the Chinese prevented two U.S. naval ships seeking safe harbor from a Pacific storm from entering the port of Hong Kong.
As Los Angeles Times reporter Julian Barnes reports, this is a violation of maritime customs dating back centuries.
And apparently, you don't have to go to a naval academy to know this. All you need do is listen to some Jimmy Buffet lyrics.
Barnes quotes Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command:
"This is, kind of, an unwritten law amongst seamen, that if someone is in need, regardless of genus, phylum or species, you let them come in; you give them safe harbor," Keating said. "Jimmy Buffett has songs about it, for crying out loud."
The ships, two minesweepers named the Patriot and the Guardian, rode out the storm without damage though anyone whose been on a ship tossed around by waves and wind can identify with any of the sailors who would rather not repeat the experience anytime soon.
As Barnes notes, the incident involving the minesweepers was followed by a day by the Chinese mistreatment of the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and her strike force which thought it had permission to dock in Hong Kong so the American crews could have Thanksgiving dinner with their families who had flown there for the occasion.
The Chinese foreign ministry refused the Kitty Hawk strike force entry. After the disappointed Americans aboard headed back out to sea, the Chinese government reversed itself but not in time since the Kitty Hawk by that point was 300 miles away.
The Chinese have essentially kept mum about all of this.
That's too bad. It would be informative to hear from them directly their reasons for closing Hong Kong to U.S. warships, especially since the Chinese arguably benefit from that very same U.S. seapower. American ships patrol the sea lanes China uses to import raw materials, including oil, and to export all those manufactured goods from Chinese factories to the rest of the world.
That's a point U.S. diplomats are no doubt making to the Chinese in an effort to prevent a repeat of last week's incidents.
UPDATE: White House Press Secretary Dana Perino was asked at today's West Wing press briefing about the Chinese behavior towards the U.S. Navy. Here's the back and forth with a reporter.
Q Dana, there's a report that the Chinese foreign minister told the president today a reason that a U.S. aircraft carrier was turned away from Hong Kong was due to a misunderstanding. First of all, can you confirm that? And secondly, is that an acceptable explanation?MS. PERINO: The president met today with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang this morning in the Oval Office. They discussed North Korea, Iran and many other bilateral issues that we have with China. The president raised the issue about the recent aborted port call by the USS Kitty Hawk. Prime -- Foreign Minister Yang announced -- assured the president that it was a misunderstanding. I was not able to be there, but that's the readout that I have for you, that that's the explanation that was given to the president.
Q Is that an acceptable explanation?
MS. PERINO: I don't have anything more from -- I don't have a presidential reaction. I just know about the meeting.
Q What kind of misunderstanding? How do you have a misunderstanding that you'd turn an aircraft carrier away? Do you know what the explanation was?
MS. PERINO: I don't know. I don't know what his explanation was. All I know, that he told the president that it was a misunderstanding. I don't have details. But I'll see if I can get anything more for you.
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Comments
I'm sure the Lefties are all for this action by the ChiComs. They don't like it when the Navy comes into the port at San Francisco.
Posted by: John D | November 28, 2007 2:03 PM
How does this have anything to do with the Democrats, you moron?
Posted by: Billy Zoom | November 28, 2007 2:15 PM
Let's nuke them!
"Dirty Dick" Cheney
Posted by: J.E. | November 28, 2007 2:18 PM
China is now more of a Capitalist State than a Communist State. So, like anything else in life, you need to learn how to bend over, close your eyes. . . and they will eventually let you in.
It works all the time. That's how people get promoted at work? Same principles that apply here apply around the World. Foreign Diplomacy 101.
Posted by: Lou | November 28, 2007 3:14 PM
Billy:
You must be new here - everyone knows that Johnny blames the Democrats or the Loony Lefties, no matter what the topic is.
Posted by: BobinATL | November 28, 2007 3:33 PM
Nuke 'em? Nah. We'll just stop buying their lead painted toys. That'll fix 'em.
Posted by: Tom O | November 28, 2007 4:04 PM
If the U.S. Navy is angry, I think there are other important reasons at work.
First, during exercises a short while ago off Taiwan a new Chinese ultra-quiet submarine - the Song class - surfaced within striking distance of an aircraft carrier.
This is not supposed to be able to happen, with all the perimeter of ships and electronic gear, but it did.
Two, the Chinese have tested an anti-ship missile that is either the Russian Sunburn missile or something very similar.
This is a dreaded missile that can sink a big fat aircraft carrier, avoiding its computerized defences by an unpredictable spiral motion. The brass were horrified to learn this.
Maybe before long, it might be a good idea to stop making vague threats concerning Taiwan, a piece of real estate that is China's by international agreements as surely as California is part of the U.S.
Posted by: John Chuckman, Toronto, Canada | November 28, 2007 4:31 PM
Yes, Tom O and US companies that offshore to China will get punished. That'll fix us.
Posted by: Will | November 28, 2007 4:52 PM
Could is be Iraq or Iran...but I think the chinese are a little upset about all those dollars...the ones that have lost 30% of their value since bush has been deciding.
Posted by: tin foil | November 28, 2007 4:55 PM
China knows that they can do whatever they want now and have no fear of a U.S. military might and econonmy that has been squandered by Bush, et al. This country hasn't even begun to feel the major repercussions of this administration's blunders that are headed our way.
Posted by: Rick/Sneads Ferry, NC | November 28, 2007 5:01 PM
They're just pissed off that we've saddled them with worthless U.S. dollars and multi-billion losses from reckless investments in the sub-prime loan sector. That's nothing compared to the grief they're gonna cause us when they dump the U.S. quasi-peso in favor of the Euro.
Posted by: dt | November 28, 2007 5:59 PM
China is now more of a Capitalist State than a Communist State. So, like anything else in life, you need to learn how to bend over, close your eyes. . . and they will eventually let you in.
It works all the time. That's how people get promoted at work? Same principles that apply here apply around the World. Foreign Diplomacy 101.
Posted by: Lou | November 28, 2007 3:14 PM
Maybe so, but we don't execute regulators for lax quality control, like China does. If Mike Leavett were in China he'd be pushing up daisies along with Zheng Xiaoyu.
Posted by: dt | November 28, 2007 6:06 PM
Maybe since the US has decided to do away with Habeas Corpus, China decided that universal maritime laws are moot as well.
Posted by: DD | November 28, 2007 7:14 PM
Let us not blame the Dems or the Repubs. Lets face facts these people are not our friends, and neither are the Saudis and the list goes on and on. When is Congress and the rest of our govenment going to realize we can not buy friends and we certainly cannot trust some of the ones that purport to be our friends. We are the most giving nation the world has ever known. But it is time we started taking care of the American people "First".
Posted by: Paul Jaeger | November 28, 2007 7:14 PM
I'm sure the Lefties are all for this action by the ChiComs. They don't like it when the Navy comes into the port at San Francisco.
Posted by: John D | November 28, 2007 2:03 PM
What we don't like is ships running into the Bay Bridge and despoiling the bay and its wildlife with 60,000 gallons of spilt oil and diesel fuel, you idiot.
Posted by: dt | November 28, 2007 7:20 PM
They know we will not do anything...they own a lot of our debt...all they have to do is call for us to pay them back immediately if we threaten them. Other countries are buying our businesses out of trouble like Citicorp. Will the Americans eventually own none of their own soil? Are we really playing a global game of "Risk"?
Posted by: lochnessmonster | November 28, 2007 7:51 PM
This is payback for the US upgrading Taiwan's missle technology and President Bush entertaining the dali lama at the White House. Also, the chicoms are probably mad they haven't rec'd any missle technology or a port from the United States in over seven years.
Posted by: Terry | November 28, 2007 8:21 PM
""I'm sure the Lefties are all for this action by the ChiComs. They don't like it when the Navy comes into the port at San Francisco.
Posted by: John D | November 28, 2007 2:03 PM
"How does this have anything to do with the Democrats, you moron?
Posted by: Billy Zoom | November 28, 2007 2:15 PM""
Billy,
Crazy John Devola is always saying we 'looney lefties' are saying something we are not actually saying at all; then 'quoting' us later as having said something we have not said.
Posted by: C.Morris | November 28, 2007 9:36 PM
A navy admiral labeled the Chinese action as incompatible with the behavior of a responsible nation. Could he possibly be referring to the U.S.? ummmm
Posted by: jason | November 28, 2007 10:28 PM
All in all, eventually, China will be a big threat to us in the long run. Not today, not yet. Right now, it's just EGO rubbing. This for that. . .attitude.
But,China, like any emerging superpower, is already gearing for its share of the World Empire. They are already heavily investing and sending people into Africa and around the world! Africa is still untap. A huge continent with lots of land and resource with very few people ratio.
We are not at war with China. And, China is not at war with us. But, we are at a critical economic war level where one country can put the other one into financial disaster. That is way more dangerous than a military war.
Posted by: Lou | November 28, 2007 11:32 PM
Simple solution: For every U.S. warship denied safe harbor in China, the Coast Guard should turn back three Chinese freighters entering San Francisco Bay. Wouldn't be hard to come up with a reason: Lead-filled cargo; suspicion of some vague disease; Oil leaks. Once the
manufacturers in China have this happen once, they will get to the Chicom government.
Posted by: Derrock | November 29, 2007 1:28 PM
Ever since Nixon-Kissinger sold out Taiwan's UN seat in exchange for empty promises from communist Chinese, they have had the upper hand in nearly every situation between our two governments. Throughout the late 70's and 80's the U.S. equipped them with military technology as a way to counterbalance the USSR. China was all too happy to receive this aid but didn't budge an inch when it came reciprocating the favors. Then the 90's came and the Clinton Administration took the one-sided relationship to a whole new level (what Chinese spies didn't outright steal, U.S. companies sold them outright with the help of the White House and Chamber of Commerce). Today, that relationship has worsened and, despite the initial tough talk from the Bush Administration, does not seem to be getting any better. For decades, the communist Chinese have been playing U.S. officials and businessmen for fools and laughing all the way to the bank.
As for Taiwan, it has never been a part of China. The closest it came, was when it was handed to Chiang Kai-Shek and the KMT government during the 1943 Cairo Conference as a way to make sure the island did not fall into Japanese hands. But Chiang never had the island formally declared as part of China. Before him, Taiwan also experienced a brief tug of war with the late Qing Dynasty but nothing substantial ever came of it. It was only after the communist Chinese took power in 1949, that they started declaring Taiwan was inherently theirs. Same as they did Tibet in 1951, and same as they did the China-India Himalayan border in 1962. Pure rubbish.
Posted by: Thomas | November 29, 2007 6:40 PM
Which Buffett song is the admiral talking about? Slow boat to China, One Particular Harbor, something else?
Posted by: Jimmy B | November 30, 2007 4:07 PM
Please do not trust The Chinese government 100%; I recommend that the Naval officials always have plan B & C. Otherwise we will be burned all the time in the future. over and over.
Sincerely
Tsai
Posted by: Hsu-Hei Tsai | November 30, 2007 4:45 PM
Oh waaaaay! America can't have its way, WAAAAAH! We can't do whatever we want to, WAAAAAHHH!
All I can say is Americaaaaa F%^& YEeeaaaah!
Posted by: chief | December 5, 2007 8:50 PM
Either the Chinese already own all our ports or will by 01/09. We supported the economy by having the fed suggest ARM's (adjustible rates) and then raised the rates around 20 times. Shylock, Eh?
Posted by: Larrie | December 6, 2007 9:04 PM