Power and Interest News Report, December 5, 2007. " title="External link to: Power and Interest News Report, December 5, 2007. " class="external">China Pushes the United States Back in the Pacific
The spheres of influence of the United States and China could be starting to shift, proposes Richard Komaiko writing for the Power and Interest News Report.
US Navy ships USS Patriot and USS Guardian were denied permission to dock in Hong Kong despite weathering a storm and facing fuel-shortages, which constitutes a violation of international naval protocol. Moreover, the flagship of the American presence in the Taiwan Strait, the USS Kitty Hawk, was also denied entry only to have it re-issued much later.
In the United States the incidents have been perceived as politically motivated, particularly after high-ranking Chinese government officials qualified the measures as mere reactions to the prize recently awarded to the Dalai Lama by the US Congress.
The completion of a symbolic visit by a Chinese vessel to the shores of Japan exacerbates the trend, and although Komaiko characterizes the events as a tit-for-tat exchange, the geopolitical implications remain unclear.
