A US aircraft carrier arrived in Hong Kong Wednesday amid heightened tension between Washington and Beijing over arms sales to Taiwan and President Barack Obama's plan to meet the Dalai Lama. The stop by the USS Nimitz, one of the world's largest warships, came just weeks after China said it would suspend military and security contacts with the United States over Washington's 6.4-billion-dollar arms package for Taipei.
It also coincided with a trip to Washington by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama for a long-awaited meeting with Obama, a visit that has infuriated Beijing which has denounced him as a separatist bent on independence for his Himalayan homeland. Rear Admiral John Miller, commander of the nuclear-powered carrier, said China and the United States could work together on areas such as maritime security even if they disagreed on other issues.
China's assistance in fighting piracy off the coast of Africa was an "excellent example of what like-minded nations can do in various parts of the world," Miller told a press conference held on the ship. "There are a lot of areas where nations that don't always agree on a variety of issues can find agreement," he said. "To ensure stability in the maritime environment, any nation can be part of that."
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