When a naval port visit becomes coercive

Can a navy overdo a port call by arriving with capital ships and a heavy escort?

Yes. A force large enough for a surrender ceremony can make a diplomatic visit look like an invasion or threat.

The fictional example sends nuclear-powered, railgun-armed Montanas, Ford-class carriers and escorts to a treaty-signing visit. Such a force could make the visit look like an invasion or an occasion for accepting unconditional surrender. Taking a carrier of roughly 100,000 tons and several thousand people into harbour also raises a separate concern about exposing so much ship and crew for a ceremonial purpose. A sloop provides the smaller-scale comparison. The accompanying historical anecdote recalls a merchant ship, tentatively identified as St Vincent de Paul, whose British flag mattered when she was captured, even though her entitlement to fly it is explicitly questioned.