The PRC navy has two warships, the guided missile cruiser Shenzhen and the auxiliary Fengcang, in European waters for the first time in history. They’re visiting various ports and what not.

So, when the Chinese paid visit to Portsmouth, the Royal Navy hosted a welcoming ceremony on board Ark Royal. When Admiral Wu and his staff boarded her, the British hoisted the Taiwanese flag over her flight deck.

The Admiral was not pleased.

Of course, this has been diplomatically excused away as an administrative error, but it wouldn’t surprise me if some really cool British sailor pulled quite the prank. Either way, I’m quite pleased by the incident.