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China rejects US request for American warships to visit Hong Kong as protests rock city
- Amphibious dock landing ship USS Green Bay was expected to stop in Hong Kong on Saturday, while guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie planned port call in September
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China has denied requests for two US Navy ships to visit Hong Kong, the Pacific Fleet said on Tuesday, after the two countries engaged in a war of words over the city’s pro-democracy protests.
The USS Green Bay, an amphibious dock landing ship, was to stop in Hong Kong on Saturday, while the guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie planned a port call there next month, Commander Nate Christensen, deputy spokesman for the United States Pacific Fleet, said in a statement.
“The Chinese government denied requests for port visits to Hong Kong” by the two vessels, Christensen said.
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He referred the question of why the request was denied to China.
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Weeks of protests in the semi-autonomous former British colony of Hong Kong have escalated, with protesters blocking and paralysing the city’s airport for a second day on Tuesday.
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