Islam Times - China rejects US aircraft carrier request to visit Hong Kong

Islam Times - Amid continuing tensions in the disputed South China Sea, Beijing has rejected a request for a US aircraft carrier group to make a port visit to Hong Kong, the Pentagon says.

A US Defense Department press officer said on Friday that the group, led by the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, was prevented from docking despite a "long track record of successful port visits to Hong Kong."

Bill Urban added that another US warship, the USS Blue Ridge, was currently in Hong Kong on a port visit, noting that the US expected that to continue as normal.

A US Navy official, requesting anonymity, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry's commissioner in Hong Kong communicated Beijing's rejection of the visit, saying it was "not convenient" at this time.

The Chinese administration and its embassy in Washington have not yet commented on the issue.

The Stennis has been patrolling in the South China Sea, which has become a source of tension between China, the US, and the regional countries who are seeking control of trade routes and mineral deposits there.

China claims sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by Taiwan, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Recently, the US has increased its presence in the Asia-Pacific region through its so-called pivot strategy, which critics denounce as a provocative policy.

Beijing accuses Washington of meddling in regional issues and deliberately stirring up tensions in the South China Sea.

The US, in turn, accuses Beijing of carrying out what it calls a land reclamation program in the South China Sea by building artificial islands in the disputed areas.