Japanese warship leaves for first visit to China: official
TOKYO (AFP) — A Japanese warship left on Thursday to visit China for the first time since World War II, an official said, amid a growing thaw in the often frigid ties between the Asian powers.
The 4,650-ton Sazanami destroyer left Kure port in western Hiroshima prefecture and will arrive on Tuesday in Zhanjiang in the southern province of Guangdong.
During the five-day stay, the crew of the Sazanami plan to take part in several friendship events in the city including a joint concert.
"The vessel is carrying 240 personnel on board as well as goods to show our sympathy" to the people hit by the massive May 12 earthquake," a naval official said.
The relief goods include 300 blankets, 2,600 pre-packaged meals and hygiene items such as masks, he said.
The visit comes amid improving ties between the Asian giants after a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Chinese President Hu Jintao in early May in Tokyo.
In a fresh sign of a thaw, Japan and China said Wednesday they had struck a breakthrough deal to jointly develop gas fields in the East China Sea, a spat that has been a thorn in ties between the major energy importers.
The visit is a return port call by the Japanese side after a Chinese naval ship, the missile destroyer Shenzhen, visited Japan in November for the first time since the People's Republic of China was established in 1949.
In 2002, a planned visit by a Chinese naval ship was cancelled after Japan's then prime minister Junichiro Koizumi visited a controversial war shrine seen by China and other Asian nations as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
