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LEAD: U.S. warship passed Taiwan Strait after stopover refusal in Hong Kong+

Nov 29 01:44 PM US/Eastern
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Kong+ (AP) - TOKYO, Nov. 30 (Kyodo)—(EDS: ADDING DETAILS)
A U.S. warship passed the Taiwan Strait on its way back to its home port of Yokosuka last week after China initially denied it permission to dock in Hong Kong, U.S. military sources told Kyodo News on Thursday.
The U.S. act is seen as warning to China as the United States has refrained from sailing through the strait since 1996, when Taiwan's first presidential election generated a crisis which led the United States to deploy two aircraft carriers to the area.
The sources said that after China's refusal on Nov. 21, the Kitty Hawk and five other vessels moved northward in the South China Sea, passing the Taiwan Strait from Friday to Saturday.
As the fleet passed the strait, warplanes were deployed from the flattop to guard the surrounding area, they said.
In the past two to three years, the Kitty Hawk making port calls in Hong Kong during the Thanksgiving holiday passed waters near Bashi Channel south of Taiwan to reach the Pacific on its way back to Yokosuka.
This year, the Kitty Hawk planned a four-day port call at Hong Kong from Nov. 21 for its crew of about 8,000. As it approached Hong Kong, it was refused entry for unspecified reasons. China later reversed the decision on "humanitarian grounds."
The flattop canceled the plan and returned to Yokosuka on Tuesday, four day earlier than it had originally planned.
China's refusal can be interpreted as retaliation against the recent U.S. decision to sell missiles to Taiwan as well as the warm U.S. hospitality extended to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, observers say.
Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, criticized the Chinese act, saying it was unlike a responsible nation. Responding to the Pentagon's criticism, the Chinese government has said the measure was based on a misunderstanding.
U.S. warships have for decades docked in Hong Kong during tours of duty, but since the territory's return to China in 1997 they need Chinese permission.