The US request to have its warships visit amid the Hong Kong protests is inappropriate and could have ulterior motives, Chinese experts said Wednesday as China reportedly turned down the request.
US Navy transport dock ship Green Bay and guided missile cruiser Lake Erie requested visits to Hong Kong in the next few weeks, but China has rejected the request, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing a statement by Nate Christensen, deputy spokesman for the US Navy's Pacific Fleet.
This is not the first time China has denied a visit by a US ship to Hong Kong. In September 2018, China declined a port visit for the amphibious assault ship Wasp.
It is within China's scope of sovereignty to approve a US warship's request to visit Hong Kong, just as the US needs to approve visits by Chinese naval vessels to Hawaii, said Yang Yujun, a former Defense Ministry spokesperson and dean of the academy of media and public affairs at Communication University of China in Beijing.
“The security situation in Hong Kong is very severe and the US government had just issued a travel warning to US citizens,” Yang told the Global Times on Wednesday.
“At this time, the US request to have warships stop by in Hong Kong is contradictory to the warning and very inappropriate,” Yang said.
Yang noted that it was clear to see “the role the US has been playing in the turmoil in Hong Kong. We are highly suspicious of US motives, now that it still expects to have warships visit Hong Kong.”
The US issued an…
