ID :
10782
Wed, 06/25/2008 - 14:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/10782
The shortlink copeid
1st Japanese warship since WW2 docks at Chinese port
ZHANJIANG, China, June 25 (Kyodo) - A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer sailed into this port city in southern China on Tuesday, marking the first port call to China by a Japanese
warship since World War II.
The 4,650-ton Sazanami arrived in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, and will stay there for five days through Saturday.
''We believe the exchange of visits by military ships will become a monumental milestone for defense communications between the two countries,'' the ship's commander, Maj. Gen. Shinichi Tokumaru, told Chinese and Japanese reporters after a brief ceremony.
The visit by the MSDF ship reciprocates one by the Chinese missile destroyer Shenzhen to Japan last November, which was the first visit since the People's Republic of China was established in 1949.
The Sazanami's visit was initially planned for June 3 as agreed between Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao in early May, but the plan was postponed in the wake of last month's devastating earthquake that hit Sichuan Province.
The Sazanami, with a crew of about 240, is carrying about 300 blankets and 2,600 emergency food items for earthquake survivors in Sichuan.
A banner that read ''Warmly welcoming Japanese MSDF ship on first visit to China'' was held by some 400 Chinese sailors greeting the Sazanami.
However, one of two scheduled joint music concerts to be held in the city center was canceled, while the other one was moved from the city center to the naval base for ''fear of Japanese sailors' safety,'' the Japanese force was told.
The visit is the latest evidence of a continuing thaw in the two countries' relations.
Japan invaded China and conquered large parts of it in the 1920s before being defeated by the Allies in 1945, and many Chinese still strongly resent Japan for its military aggression.
After the Sichuan quake, the Japanese government considered but later shelved a plan to dispatch Self-Defense Force planes to airlift relief supplies to Sichuan after considering ''cautious views expressed by some quarters in China.''
warship since World War II.
The 4,650-ton Sazanami arrived in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, and will stay there for five days through Saturday.
''We believe the exchange of visits by military ships will become a monumental milestone for defense communications between the two countries,'' the ship's commander, Maj. Gen. Shinichi Tokumaru, told Chinese and Japanese reporters after a brief ceremony.
The visit by the MSDF ship reciprocates one by the Chinese missile destroyer Shenzhen to Japan last November, which was the first visit since the People's Republic of China was established in 1949.
The Sazanami's visit was initially planned for June 3 as agreed between Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao in early May, but the plan was postponed in the wake of last month's devastating earthquake that hit Sichuan Province.
The Sazanami, with a crew of about 240, is carrying about 300 blankets and 2,600 emergency food items for earthquake survivors in Sichuan.
A banner that read ''Warmly welcoming Japanese MSDF ship on first visit to China'' was held by some 400 Chinese sailors greeting the Sazanami.
However, one of two scheduled joint music concerts to be held in the city center was canceled, while the other one was moved from the city center to the naval base for ''fear of Japanese sailors' safety,'' the Japanese force was told.
The visit is the latest evidence of a continuing thaw in the two countries' relations.
Japan invaded China and conquered large parts of it in the 1920s before being defeated by the Allies in 1945, and many Chinese still strongly resent Japan for its military aggression.
After the Sichuan quake, the Japanese government considered but later shelved a plan to dispatch Self-Defense Force planes to airlift relief supplies to Sichuan after considering ''cautious views expressed by some quarters in China.''
