China has banned the US Navy from making stops in Hong Kong after President Donald Trump signed legislation supporting the city’s pro-democracy protesters.
“In response to the unreasonable behaviors of the US side, the Chinese government decides to suspend the review of requests by US military ships and aircraft to visit Hong Kong as of today,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a news conference in Beijing.Hua also announced that Beijing would impose sanctions on several US non-governmental human rights organizations that have been monitoring and reporting on the protests in Hong Kong.
Taiwan, on the other hand, is keen to have the Americans sail into their ports!
Beijing’s decision to suspend US military port calls in Hong Kong has been greeted with a degree of derision in Taiwan, with many suggesting that the Americans would be welcome to come to the island instead.Although the United States is unlikely to risk angering Beijing further by sending warships on a port call to the self-ruled island, many Taiwanese internet users said the southern port city of Kaoshiung would “win big” if the Americans did decide to visit.One comment on the PTT terminal bulletin board system joked those visits would happen only when “US-China [trade] talks fall apart or reach a standstill”.A Taiwanese blogger wrote on Facebook that such a move could “stimulate spending in Kaoshiung by US naval officers and elevate Kaoshiung’s skills in naval vessel repairs”.
Interestingly, it appears that Trump is not in a rush to make a trade deal with China. He just indicated that it might be better to wait until after the 2020 election to make formal agreements.
“In some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal, but they want to make a deal now and we will see whether or not the deal is going to be right,” Trump told reporters in London, where he is attending the NATO summit. The U.S. general election is set to take place next November….When asked if he had a deadline for the deal, Trump added: “I have no deadline, no.′
Not only is Trump not rushing into a trade deal with China, but the administration is also now spending $22 billion to purchase nine new nuclear-powered Virginia-class submarines to maintain superiority over China’s growing Navy.
“These next generation submarines provide our forces with a distinct national security advantage. They are an unmatched tool for deterrence,” said Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee.Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who has held the position for just days following the ouster of his predecessor, Richard Spencer, added that the commission affirmed the U.S. commitment to naval dominance.”Our submarine force is fundamental to the power and reach of our integrated naval force,” he said. “Today’s announcement affirms our commitment to the future strength of our nation, undersea and around the world.”
Trump is willing to trade with China…its a matter of China deciding precisely what it wants to trade with us.
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