US Navy’s Hong Kong port calls likely to be scuppered as ties with China’s military continue to deteriorate
- One military source says the PLA believes the Americans are using the visits as an excuse to monitor its ships
- This issue may have been one factor in the collapse of recent talks to discuss maritime safety
A Beijing-based military source said the People’s Liberation Army had not been happy about the US Navy visiting in recent years and claimed the American forces had used port calls as an excuse to stay behind in the area to conduct freedom of navigation operations and monitor the PLA’s exercises.
“It’s one of the things that caused the failure of the scheduled Military Maritime Consultative Agreement due to the big divergence between the two militaries,” the source, who requested anonymity, said.
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The US Indo-Pacific Command said it was the latest illustration that “China does not honour its agreements”, but the PLA said that the US had tried to proceed without an agreed agenda.
“It’s impossible to expel all the American warships out of the region because the PLA recognises their right to conduct freedom of navigation operations,” the source said.
Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s Naval Academy in Kaohsiung, said Beijing should not link Hong Kong port visits and freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea.
“The two things are not related,” Lu said. “But it’s not surprising if the PLA grumbles about the American sailors taking rest and relaxation in Chinese territory [in Hong Kong] and then conducts freedom of navigation operations in the region.”
The US Navy’s visits to the city date back to the early years of the British colony, and warships were regular visitors in the years leading up to the handover to Chinese rule in 1997, after which the number of port calls dwindled.
In July last year, the Chinese foreign ministry said Beijing had suspended all reviews of US military applications to send ships and aircraft to visit Hong Kong in response to US President Donald Trump signing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which enables the US to sanction officials and suspend the city’s preferential trade relations.
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Drew Thompson, a former Pentagon official responsible for managing relations with China, said the suspension of port calls was the result of political considerations and was not consistent with international practice.
“Hong Kong port calls historically were not part of the military-to-military relationship. They were not negotiated with Beijing, but between the US Navy and Hong Kong authorities directly,” Thompson said.
“[The suspension shows] the days of Hong Kong military-to-military and military-to-police engagement are over.”
The US military had held regular joint training activities with the Hong Kong Police Force before and after the handover. However, the city stopped sending officers to attend courses held by the International Law Enforcement Academies in September last year.
The relationship between the two countries’ militaries deteriorated further this year as both sides stepped up their exercises in the region – with each accusing the other of using Covid-19 as a cover for this increase in activity.
