Chinese naval warship arrives in Tokyo for visit

TOKYO—The Chinese People’s Liberation Army(PLA) Naval missile destroyer “Shenzhen” arrived in Tokyo on Wednesday morning for a four-day visit.
“Shenzhen”, the destroyer, with 345 officers and soldiers onboard headed by Rear Admiral Xiao Xinnian, vice chief of staff of the South China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy, entered into the Tokyo Bay earlier in the morning and was led to the port by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF)’s frigate “Thunder”.
The 9:55 a.m. port call at Harumi wharf, which is close to central Tokyo, is the first of its kind in the history of PLA’s navy. The Japanese side organized a warm welcoming ceremony at the wharf for the arrival of “Shenzhen,” with several hundreds of Japan-based Chinese taking part in. The warship visit is a significant and memorable event, which opened a new page in the history of Japan-China defense exchange and military communications, said Eiji Yoshikawa, chief of staff of the Japanese MSDF. He believed that the landmark port call will boost bilateral friendship and strengthen mutual trust.
Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai said the naval ship brings to the Japanese MSDF the sincere friendship of their Chinese “colleagues.” “The visit is set to inject new vigor and impetus into the development of bilateral ties,” Cui said at the ceremony. Rear Admiral Xiao said that coming with the ship are not only 345 officers and crew members, but also the amity of 1.3 billion Chinese people and the desire for peace and harmony.
“We believe that the port call will push forward the military and civilian exchanges and promote the Sino-Japanese friendly ties. We hope the sea between China and Japan could be changed into a sea of peace and friendship,” he said.
During the visit through Dec. 1, while Chinese naval officials will be meeting with Japanese officials from the defense ministry and SDF, Chinese crew members will go around central Tokyo for sightseeing and shopping, and will conduct a variety of exchanges, including a soccer match, with their Japanese counterparts. The two sides will visit each other’s warships, and plan to offer a joint bands performance for the civilians. The visit of “Shenzhen,” which left the Zhanjiang port of Southern China’s Guangdong Province on Nov. 21, is at the invitation of the MSDF.
A Chinese naval ship left here Wednesday morning for a port call to Japan, the first such visit in the history of the naval forces of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The missile destroyer “Shenzhen” will visit Japan from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, at the invitation of the 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.—Xinhua