Posted on 11/23/2007 7:04:28 AM PST by Bulldawg Fan
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 told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Thursday while flying back to the U.S. after visiting troops in Iraq. "I'm perplexed and concerned."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
There is a lesson in these two episodes: Never count on China being a friend of this country and next time you want to have a port of call on a significant holiday with families gathering, do it in Australia, Japan or South Korea in the Pacific. On second thoughts, those ports would be better any time of the year. Let the merchants of Hong Kong discuss it with their masters in Beijing.
Turning over Hong Kong was an asinine decision on the part of the UK. Not sure why Thatcher let that happen.
Well said, but not strong enough. We keep letting the Chinese get away with their “political slap-in-the-face” games and we don’t reciprocate in kind. I would think refusing about 10,000 40’containers full of Chinese made goods into the U.S.A. ports might get their attention, and force an apology from Bejing. Anything short of that shows weakness on our part. That is the only thing those folks worry about.
Was this just a “diss,” a diplomatic snub, an insult, or what?
The 155 year British reign ended as scheduled by Treaty of Nanking. Do you think they should have resisted this outcome? How would they have done so?
Regards
The Treaty of Nanking gave the UK possession of HK Island and Kowloon in perpetuity.
The New Territories were subject to the ending of the 99 year tenure.
Do you think they should have resisted this outcome? How would they have done so?
The perpetual tenure of HK Island and Kowloon should have been a potent bargaining tool.
Every time a U.S. warship ties up in Hong Kong, especially a carrier group, a tremendous amount of money flows into the local economy. I'm sure Hong Kong merchants are furious as I'm sure this will be the last time, at least for the next year or so, the U.S. Navy will request permission to dock in Hong Kong.
I think the US Navy commander actually went to tell the Chinese that the next time one of their boats attempts something like that, it isn't coming back. The Chinese refusal to let the Kitty Hawk battlegroup to dock at Hong Kong might be a way of telling us that they don't appreciate being talked to like that. My 2 cents.
Since the Navy is not taking holiday, how about going to the open sea to conduct target practice on container ships bearing Chinese exports of Christmas gifts bound for the U.S.?
” I would think refusing about 10,000 40’containers full of Chinese made goods into the U.S.A. ports might get their attention, and force an apology from Bejing. Anything short of that shows weakness on our part. That is the only thing those folks worry about.”
Great idea and it would make the point...but it won’t happen. The internationalist/globalist capitalists who are this Administration’s paymasters will never let it happen.
You expected idiot moves from Carter.
But you expected brilliant moves from Thatcher.
Thatcher had no choice. If she didn’t agree the Red Chinese would eventually have taken it by force. And Britain could have done nothing about it. Red China is not Argentina.
She did delay it as long as she was able under the lease.
Exactly! We let every country run over the top of us, and play their little games- we have ways of putting them back in their place and we need to do it.
We also need to deal firmly with Mexico, if we stop their goods on the way to our market I bet we could convince them to actually help stop smuggling and other border crime.
Simply allowing another country to behave this way toward us has a lot to do with the attitude many countries have about the United States. We need to stand up for ourselves when another country behaves this way. It is a matter of respect. I don’t care if any other country “loves” the U.S., or even “likes” us- but they need to respect us!
I think if the U.S. would behave in a way that demanded respect, it would go a long way to insure things like 9/11 just would not happen.
Tammy foe president in 08!!!!!!!!!!
“Well said, but not strong enough. We keep letting the Chinese get away with their “political slap-in-the-face” games and we don’t reciprocate in kind. I would think refusing about 10,000 40’containers full of Chinese made goods into the U.S.A. ports might get their attention, and force an apology from Bejing. Anything short of that shows weakness on our part. That is the only thing those folks worry about.”
Sound a bit familiar?
It does to me...
Boy, wouldn’t you love to be privy to the inside skinny on that incident and its aftermath!!!!
Someone ought to tell the Admiral that the Chinese will be attacking right after the Olympics.
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