If the visit of nuclear-powered submarine USS Hampton to Hong Kong this week symbolises the thaw in Sino-US military ties, it also shows just how far the fledgling relationship still has to go.
The Hampton, flanked by a specialised support ship, the USS Frank Cable, is the first US nuclear sub to stop in the city in three years, but no local People's Liberation Army officials will be invited aboard. Yet they are expected to attend a party when the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson - the ship that buried Osama bin Laden at sea - visits next week.
Officers aboard the Hampton and Frank Cable confirmed that no PLA visits had been scheduled during the rest-and-relaxation stop. Washington officials acknowledged continuing sensitivities surrounding submarines, given their stealthy capabilities that include secret penetration of coastlines and intelligence gathering.
Senior PLA officials had occasionally been aboard US submarines in the past, but the relationship has some way to develop before it will become routine.
'Submarines are very special, and there is always some caution involved ... from our side; we will also have to see increased access to Chinese subs,' one Washington official said, pointing to formal US congressional mandates that the military relationship be based on transparency and reciprocity.
Talking in the officers' ward room aboard the Hampton yesterday, commanding officer Tony Lott said he had yet to encounter Chinese counterparts - at sea or on more formal visits - but talked up the benefits of longer-term exchanges.
'Military relations are always very beneficial and ... encouraged,' Lott said. 'Any military sharing and visits, communications and practices ... just enhance our ability to work together so any of those in the future would be beneficial as arranged by our government and the navy with the [Chinese] government.
