Warship crew sails home

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-6-30  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

AFTER a five-day stay of the first Japanese warship to visit China in peacetime, the crew of Sazanami returned with messages of friendship from the Chinese navy.

"Please send the love and friendship of the Chinese navy and people back to Japan," Lt. Gen. Su Shiliang, commander of the South Sea Fleet of China, said to Major-Gen. Shinichi Tokumaru of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The destroyer left the southern Guangdong Province port of Zhanjiang on Saturday morning with its 240-member crew.

During its stay in port, the Japanese crew visited the Chinese missile destroyer Shenzhen and toured Zhanjiang. They also played basketball, football and tug-of-war with the Chinese crew.

About 1,000 locals visited the Sazanami since it was opened to public on Friday, the first time a visiting Japanese warship had been open to the Chinese public.

Jin Huixin, a 30-year-old Shanghai middle school teacher, had waited for a chance to visit a Japanese warship for many years. Jin, a warship enthusiast, flew to Zhanjiang to see the destroyer when it arrived. "I have seen 23 warships from 15 countries that came to visit China, but I never had a chance to see a Japanese warship," he said.

"The visit shows that China and Japan have accepted each other," said Professor Gao Hong of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.