China 'Bars' US Navy Ship From Hong Kong Port

China recently denied a request from a US aircraft carrier for a port visit in Hong Kong, the US State Department has revealed.

It is not clear why the nuclear-powered USS John C Stennis was apparently refused docking access.

But the no-go follows US Defence Secretary Ash Carter's visit two weeks ago to the Stennis in the South China Sea.

Mr Carter was accompanied by the defence secretary of the Philippines, which is in a maritime dispute with Beijing over the ocean territory.

The South China Morning Post quoted China's Foreign Ministry as saying port calls were examined on a "case by case basis in accordance with sovereignty principles and specific circumstances".

Gabrielle Price, State Department spokeswoman for East Asia, said on Friday that US ships are usually allowed to dock at Hong Kong, including a current visit by the USS Blue Ridge.

But in 2007, amid tensions with Washington over arms sales to Taiwan, Beijing denied the USS Kitty Hawk battle group access to Hong Kong for a Thanksgiving port call.

China claims most of the South China Sea as its territory.

But the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have competing claims in the area.