Parliament challenges a naval visit to China

Why did an under-secretary announce a policy-sensitive British naval visit to China during this debate?

Speed says the visit was already public knowledge, announced during an earlier ministerial trip to China and reported in the national press.

Even a courtesy naval visit could carry wider diplomatic meaning during the Cold War. The objecting member calls the China deployment reckless and argues that an announcement with major policy implications should come from the defence secretary or prime minister. He objects both to the visit and to the way it was presented to Parliament. Speed does not defend the policy in detail; he answers the procedural charge by saying the visit had already been announced during a ministerial trip to China. He adds that national newspapers had reported it, disputing the claim that his speech revealed a concealed initiative.