Beijing has rejected a US Navy warship's request to make a port call in Hong Kong next month, reported the local US consulate on Tuesday, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post.
The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, which carries the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, operating in the East China Sea, was expected to visit Hong Kong next month, but Beijing has denied the US Navy's request, which is seen as another sign of deteriorating ties between the US and China.
According to Yahoo7, a similar situation occurred “in April 2016, when Beijing refused to allow the aircraft carrier USS John Stennis to visit Hong Kong amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.”
Washington has recently slapped China with hundreds of billions of dollars in punitive trade tariffs, to which Chinese have responded with their set of tariffs.
Beijing perceives US actions as a clear exercise in containment, an effort by the hegemonic power to cripple the rise of a developing challenger.
According to Yahoo7 tensions between the two countries, however, extend “well beyond economic exchanges and into military ties. The US sanctioned the primary procurement division of the Chinese military for purchasing Russian weapons systems in violation of sanctions, namely the advanced Su-35 fighter jet and the S-400 surface-to-air missile system. China expressed "outrage" and accused the US of trying to constrain its military power. Beijing warned that it would take "countermeasures" if the US did not "correct its mistake."”
As reported by Reuters, “China's defence ministry recalled Vice Admiral Shen Jinlong, cancelling a scheduled meeting with his US counterpart, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson”.
“US has approved a $US330 million arms deal with Taiwan that will improve the combat readiness of Taiwan's air assets. Chinese state media strongly urged the US to cancel the deal and suspend military-to-military relations with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a separatist province.”, reported Yahoo7.
