Posted on 11/23/2002 7:25:00 PM PST by Dog Gone
QINGDAO, China (AP) -- An American destroyer pulled into an eastern Chinese harbor Sunday, the first port call in China by a U.S. Navy ship since the two countries curtailed military ties after a dispute over a plane crash early last year.
Chinese sailors lined the dock and stood at attention on two ships in port as the USS Paul F. Foster pulled into the coastal city of Qingdao. A Chinese military band played as the ship churned in, and a little girl held a bouquet of flowers in welcome.
A banner hanging at the Qingdao dock said: ``Warm welcome for the United States ship in Qingdao.''
The USS Paul F. Foster arrived flying both American and Chinese flags from its mast. A helicopter was parked on its deck.
Military ties -- which both nations view as crucial -- were cut back after a Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet collided over the South China Sea in April 2001.
Both sides accused the other of causing the aerial crash, and China detained the U.S. plane's 24-member crew for 11 days after they made an emergency landing on Hainan Island. Angered by China's handling of the incident, the U.S. administration called a virtual halt to military exchanges.
The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States marked a turning point for relations. Beijing expressed its sympathy, cooperated with American anti-terrorism efforts and accepted the U.S. military's presence in Central Asia, considered by China to be within its own sphere of influence.
Despite occasional tensions over perennial sore points such as Taiwan, trade and human rights, ties have warmed considerably -- illustrated by the congenial reception offered Chinese President Jiang Zemin at President Bush's Texas ranch last month.
The sides formally committed at that meeting to restarting military-to-military contacts. The announcement of a slew of exchanges, including the ship visit, quickly followed.
Next month, the United States will host nearly two dozen Chinese generals, and the admiral who commands all U.S. forces in the Pacific will visit China.
Senior-level defense talks, not held since 2000, will resume Dec. 9 in Washington.
The USS Paul F. Foster also played a role in the post-Sept. 11, 2001, renewal of U.S. military contacts with another nation. In September, it participated in the first India-U.S. joint naval exercise since the United States banned such contacts with India in 1998.
The destroyer, based in Everett, Wash., is equipped with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and torpedoes that can be launched either from the ship or its sophisticated SH-60B Seahawk anti-submarine warfare helicopter.
The destroyer, commissioned in 1976, was the first U.S. ship to fire Tomahawks against Iraqi targets in the 1991 Gulf War.
Maybe Rumsfeld wants them to get a good look so he can import ships from them in the future.
Features: Destroyers and guided missile destroyers operate in support of carrier battle groups, surface action groups, amphibious groups and replenishment groups. Destroyers primarily perform anti-submarine warfare duty while guided missile destroyers are multi-mission [Anti-Air Warfare (AAW), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASUW)] surface combatants. The addition of the Mk-41 Vertical Launch System or Tomahawk Armored Box Launchers (ABLs) to many Spruance-class destroyers has greatly expanded the role of the destroyer in strike warfare.
Dog,
you captain a WW2 era warship -- any WW2 warship, and I'll take an Aegis Destroyer. Hell, you can have two. We'll take them to sea and have a duel.....
Wanna take a guess whose gonna win?
situational awareness.
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