U.S. carrier group docks in Japan

YOKOSUKA, Japan -- The U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk and its battle group returned Tuesday to Japan after being refused entry for a port call in Hong Kong, where the ships were to mark the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Kitty Hawk, which has its home port in this city just south of Tokyo, was forced to return to Japan early when Chinese authorities at the last minute refused to allow the warship and its escort vessels to enter Hong Kong harbor.

"We are befuddled at this point," said Rear Adm. Rick Wren, the battle group commander. "They simply said 'Sorry, no,' without an explanation."

Meanwhile, a warship from China dropped anchor off Tokyo on Wednesday for the first port call in Japan by a Chinese vessel since World War II -- a highly symbolic display of improving ties between the two Asian giants.

The guided missile destroyer Shenzhen will stay for four days and be opened to the Japanese public for tours. It also will dock at the Japanese naval headquarters in Yokosuka, just south of the capital, before returning to its home base in the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang.

As part of a mutual exchange, a Japanese ship will visit China later.

The Kitty Hawk's Hong Kong stopover had been planned for months, and Chinese officials refused to say why they turned the ships back. Once the ships had left, they added further confusion by reversing their decision and saying they would allow the Kitty Hawk to dock "for humanitarian purposes."

The U.S. Navy, which has expressed concern and disappointment over the incident, said by then the weather was getting bad and it was too late for the ships to go back.

Nearly 8,000 sailors aboard the Kitty Hawk and its carrier battle group marked Thanksgiving at sea. Wren said about 290 families had flown to Hong Kong to spend the holidays with the sailors, who weren't due back in Japan until Dec. 1.

"It was a bit disappointing," he said. "But we are good sailors and we will do what we need to do. One of the great things about the Navy is our flexibility. We can go anywhere -- except Hong Kong."

It was the second time in a week that China refused to let U.S. Navy ships into the port.

Two U.S. minesweepers seeking to refuel and shelter from bad weather in the South China Sea had asked for permission to enter Hong Kong three or four days before the Kitty Hawk. Those ships were denied.

The developments come as the U.S. military has been trying to bolster ties with the Chinese military to prevent misunderstandings and the potential for miscalculation.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Beijing earlier this month and high-level commanders have traveled back and forth between the two Pacific powers.

Chinese warships visited U.S. naval bases in Pearl Harbor and San Diego last year, and the two navies have since held basic search-and-rescue exercises together.

China has also been reaching out to other allies in the region.

A Chinese warship is to make a port call in Tokyo on Wednesday, the first such visit ever.

"We very much encourage it and we are very happy to see it happening," Wren said of the visit.

The visit to Hong Kong was to be one of the last major missions for the Kitty Hawk, which is the oldest active commissioned ship in the Navy and is to be retired next year and replaced by a nuclear-powered carrier.