Not since the Communist takeover in 1949 have U.S. Navy warships been permitted to enter Chinese waters. So when Peking last August agreed that American vessels could pay a port call, Washington laid plans to send three ships to Shanghai this spring. But last month the proposed visit hit an unexpected mine. Hu Yaobang, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, announced that only "conventional" American ships would be welcome. Since the U.S. refuses as a matter of policy to state which of its vessels carry nuclear weapons, the two countries were at a diplomatic impasse. Last week Peking and Washington...
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