China on Thursday said it has decided to allow the US aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk to dock in Hong Kong, however refused to give reason for its reported earlier denial.
“We have decided to allow it (the ship) to stay in Hong Kong and it is a decision out of just humanitarian consideration only”, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters here.
He declined to comment to repeated queries on what prompted the Chinese Foreign Ministry to refuse permission, including a question, if it was related to the US awarding a medal to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama which has been bitterly protested by Beijing.
Liu said China takes the decision on port call applications of US warships to Hong Kong on a “specific case by case basis following the principle state sovereignty”.
The US had been informed of the Chinese decision, he added. The US State and Defence departments had earlier said that Kitty Hawk and five supporting vessels were denied to dock in Hong Kong waters at the last minute for a ‘Thanksgiving Holiday’ visit and turned away.
