Report: Chinese ships confronted Kitty Hawk

[unhappycamper]

The Chinese destroyer Shenzhen, shown arriving in Tokyo last year, and a Song-class submarine are said to have encountered the carrier Kitty Hawk and other U.S. ships in the Taiwan Strait last November as the ships returned to Japan following China's refusal to allow them to port in Hong Kong.


Report: Chinese ships confronted Kitty Hawk
Kyodo News Service
Posted : Tuesday Jan 15, 2008 16:08:22 EST

TAIPEI — A Chinese attack submarine and destroyer shadowed U.S. warships in November in the Taiwan Strait, sparking a 28-hour standoff that brought the group to a battle-ready halt in the tense waters, a report in a Taiwan daily said Tuesday.

The confrontation occurred as the Navy aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and other ships in its battle group were heading back to Japan following China’s sudden cancellation of a long-scheduled holiday port call in Hong Kong, the China Times said, citing U.S. military sources.

The carrier strike group encountered Chinese destroyer Shenzhen and a Song-class sub in the strait on Nov. 23, causing the group to halt and ready for battle, as the Chinese vessels also stopped amid the 28-hour confrontation, the Chinese-language daily reported.

The Kitty Hawk battle group had planned to pass the Thanksgiving holiday in Hong Kong as it had done in previous years, but China refused it entry without giving a reason.

By the time China reversed its decision, the U.S. ships had already turned around and headed for their home port in Japan. China later told the U.S. that its earlier refusal was a “misunderstanding.”


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/kyo_china_080115/