Destroyer docks on friendship mission

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-6-25  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A JAPANESE Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer arrived in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province yesterday to start a five-day visit to China.

The destroyer, Sazanami, carrying 240 Japanese officers, is the first Japanese warship to visit China since World War II. The voyage is a return visit as the Chinese missile destroyer Shenzhen docked in Japan last year.

A welcoming ceremony was held for the Sazanami's arrival in Zhanjiang, along with a transfer ceremony of quake aid from the Japanese Defense Ministry and Self Defense Forces, which was carried on the destroyer.

The materials, including food, blankets, hygiene masks, disinfectants and other items, will be unloaded today and then travel to the quake zone by train.

"The visit is a sign of the friendly ties between the Chinese people and the Japanese people," said Lieutenant General Su Shiliang, commander of China's South Sea Fleet.

Su expressed gratitude to Japan for providing aid and assistance after the May 12 earthquake and for relief materials shipped to the quake zone.

The Sazanami's visit will promote exchanges between the two defense departments, help build mutual trust, and enhance the development of the China-Japan strategic, mutually beneficial relationship, Su said.

Major-General Shinichi Tokumaru of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force said he believed that the visit would help consolidate the friendly ties between the two countries.