There has been noise in the US as to why the Kitty Hawk and perhaps other US naval ships were been denied permission to enter Hong Kong for what would have been a routine festival port visit. Beijing ultimately reversed the refusal after it was made public, but the carrier had already sailed for its home port in Japan.

Two possible causes:

1. While Sino-US ties are generally warm at present, Beijing is pissed with Bush’s recent meeting with the Dalai Lama and the Congressional Medal of Freedom given just weeks ago.

2. Washington recently decided to sell weapons to Taiwan, including an upgrade to the Patriot anti-missile defence system. China may have decided that this damage to its national interest should be returned in kind.

From FT/MSNBC:

If the refusal was meant to send a message, Beijing is unlikely to be pleased by the way it has been read in Washington. Some observers there have raised questions about China’s chain of command.

A senior US official said on Wednesday that the Chinese foreign ministry appeared to have been caught “flat-footed” by the original decision on the Kitty Hawk’s visit. He added that the quick reversal meant Hu Jintao, China’s president, had not approved it in advance.

However, Dennis Blair, a retired admiral and the former head of US Pacific Command, said the rapid U-turn might show that the original decision in Beijing was closely contested, and that officials decided to reverse the move after the level of US anger became apparent.

Opacity in Chinese military action is not new. Early this year the PLA took the world – and Chinese diplomats – by surprise by successfully testing an anti-satellite weapon. Beijing has yet to explain the thinking behind the test.

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