Posted on 11/20/2007 11:51:18 PM PST by Wiz
BEIJING - A Chinese naval ship left Wednesday for a port call to Japan for the first time since World War II in a further sign of easing in the Asian neighbors' often tense relations.
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The guided missile destroyer Shenzhen departed from its base in the southern port of Zhanjiang and was scheduled to arrive in Japan next Wednesday for a four-day visit, the Chinese government's Xinhua News Agency reported.
The port call is the first ever to Japan by the People's Liberation Army naval forces and is supposed to be reciprocated by Japan's navy under plans agreed to by the countries' defense ministers in August. They come amid a warming trend in relations that have been strained by disputes over territory, oil resources and rivalry for influence between a rapidly emerging China and a Japan that has been the region's dominant economic power.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Singapore on Tuesday that relations were "at a historical stage of development and a very important turning point."
The Chinese naval ship's first stop will be in Tokyo where Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force will hold a ceremony, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. The Shenzhen's crew is also scheduled to visit Japan's naval headquarters in Tokyo, and then the ship will make a call at Yokosuka, a port at the entrance to Tokyo Bay which also has the largest U.S. naval base outside the United States.
China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a telephoned request for comment nor did the Chinese Defense Ministry, which asked that questions be sent via fax.
Military relations between China and Japan are a sensitive issue. Japan's brutal invasion and occupation of much of China in the 1930s and '40s have left a legacy of bitterness, one that the communist government in Beijing has occasionally stoked to cater to a nationalist public.
Japanese officials have said the Shenzhen will be the first Chinese warship in Japan since World War II. Xinhua said it was the first to visit Japan in the history of the People's Liberation Army, which celebrated its 80th anniversary this year.
Though relations have gotten better, Japanese officials have also expressed concerns about China's surging military spending in recent years, calling for more transparency.
The sun now rises in China...
And while the Kitty Hawk is out to sea, look what else the chicoms are doing...
USS Kitty Hawk left at sea for Thanksgiving
Eight thousand American sailors and airmen will spend a lonely Thanksgiving on the South China Sea on Thursday after the Chinese government unexpectedly denied the USS Kitty Hawk access to Hong Kong port.
The aircraft carrier and its strike group had been expected in Hong Kong on Wednesday morning ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. But Bryan Whitman, Pentagon spokesman, said China had denied the visit at the last minute with no explanation.
Families of the sailors aboard the Kitty Hawk, which is based in Yokosuka, Japan, had flocked to Hong Kong only to be left high-and-dry. US consular staff were faced with having to provide alternative holiday arrangements for disappointed relatives.
Maybe the thread title should be amended to add, "Meanwhile Chicoms cx Kitty Hawk port call"
The missile destroyer "Shenzhen" will visit Japan from November 28 to December 1, at the invitation of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. LINK
Interesting how the world is turning. Makes me wonder where our friends are anymore...
Is she grounded?
Binocs at the ready, I just may go down there and have a nice little look see for myself.... ;-)
Might have some really nice dents and dings in the hull though.
Thanks for that info and telling the larger story. Happy Thanksgiving!
Visiting Guam?
Kitty Hawk was underway for an exercise with the Japanese. Maybe this was the Chicoms way of disapproving.
Looks like the crew will miss out on their annual pre-Christmas shopping boondongle. Lots of folks love these trips but I know quite a few that hated them too. They would have rather been home on Thanksgiving.
Thanks. A very happy and hearty Thanksgiving to you and yours!
No. There's a bow wave and a wake. She's not making too many turns but she's definitely underway. Probably entering or leaving a port somewhere.
I guess we’re going to have to wait for Freeport to tell us.
Get a close look at that vessel fellows, we’ll probably have to send it and all hands to Davy Jones in a few short years...
Hey TG,
Nice to see your tag line Sister. How about that Quartet Meeting held at Anapolis? Of all places to have a meeting! Talk about “the land of many waters”, hows that for describing the USA with 4 oceans the Great Lakes and the Gulf surrounding our continent? Amazing suff
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