A Chinese naval ship left Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province on Wednesday morning for a
port call to Japan, the first time in the history of the navy
forces of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
The missile destroyer, named "Shenzhen", will visit Japan from
Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, at the invitation of Japanese Maritime
Self-Defense Force.
Rear Admiral Xiao Xinnian, vice chief of staff of the South
China Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, headed
345 naval officials and soldiers on the trip.
The South China Sea Fleet held a warm seeing-off celebration at
Zhanjiang, a port city in south China's Guangdong Province.
During the four-day stay in Japan, Chinese naval officials and
soldiers will conduct military exchange and entertainment
activities with counterparts from the Japanese Maritime
Self-Defense Force.
The two sides will also visit each other's naval ships, and the
two military bands will give joint performance for citizens in
Tokyo.
In addition, the "Shenzhen" will be open to the public.
The visit is being conducted with the consensus of the two
countries' government and defense leaders, aiming at promoting the
exchange and mutual trust between China and Japan in the defense
area, said a senior official from the Foreign Affairs office of
China's Defense Ministry.
It is also an important activity in the year 2007, which marks
the 35th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese
diplomatic relations, said the official.
Analysts said the landmark visit, following the Japanese tour by
Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan in late August, opens a new page
in the history of defense exchanges between China and Japan.
Cao and his then Japanese counterpart Masahiko Komura agreed in
the August visit, the first by a Chinese military chief in nearly a
decade, that the two sides should invite each other's maritime
forces to make exchange visits.
The "Shenzhen" is a modern missile destroyer, designed and
made by China. It has visited 13 countries in Asia, Africa and
Europe since its acceptance into service in 1999.
(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2007)
