(CRIENGLISH.com)
Updated: 2008-06-15 11:30

The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force warship, Sazanami, will visit south China's harbor city of Zhanjiang later this month as part of the mutual visits by the two navies.

The missile destroyer will be the first Japanese warship making appearance in a Chinese harbor since the end of the World War II, reported Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post, quoting Japanese sources.

The visit, lasting from June 24-28, has nothing to do with the relief operation in China's quake-hit Sichuan province, the paper said.

The Chinese navy destroyer, Shenzhen, paid a four-day visit to Tokyo in November 2007 as part of the activities marking the 35th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties.

It's also the first visit by a Chinese warship to Japan since 1891.

China and Japan reached an agreement on the mutual visits of the two navies in October 2000, which was later put on hold due to the Yasukuni Shrine visits by then Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

The two sides agreed to carry out the plan at a defense minister conference on August 30, 2007.