OPINION> Commentary
Warship visit brings message of peace
By Lu Ning (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-02 07:40

In a historic move, the Japanese Maritime Self-defense Force (SDF) destroyer Sazanami arrived at the Chinese southern port of Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, in late June.

The four-day visit was a return trip for a port call made by the Chinese guided missile destroyer Shenzhen to Tokyo in late November, the first ever visit by a Chinese military vessel to Japan since the China-Japanese War of 1894-95.

If Shenzhen's trip to Japan could be called ice-breaking in the resumption of military exchanges between the two countries, Sazanami's visit can be taken as an ice-melting one. The move ushered in a new period for Sino-Japanese military exchanges. It also demonstrated the latest harvest made in the military field by the two countries.

Sazanami's China trip took place a few days after China and Japan reached the "East China Sea Consensus" on June 19, on the shelving of the dispute over the sea ownership and on the common exploration of the oil and gas resources in the sea. The shift in the attitude by the two countries' navies, from previously considering each other an imaginary enemy to working to enhance mutual military trust, will contribute to their efforts to develop the East China Sea into the "sea of peace".

At the same time, it will create a new favorable environment for the two neighbors to practice the "East China Sea Consensus" in the process of concrete cooperation on the sea issue.

Owing to historical factors, it is understandable that both Shenzhen's visit to Japan and Sazanami's return visit to China still cannot pull some Chinese and Japanese people out of a long-standing feud that formed in the past.

We Chinese should look upon the Japanese navy ship's trip with a rational mind. As part of China-Japan military exchanges, it is also a concrete and important event in the bilateral exchanges. Such exchanges can promote mutual military trust and will contribute a lot to the building of normal relations oriented toward the 21st century between the two countries.

The world has entered an era of globalization, which is not confined to the economic field alone. In fact, globalization nowadays is reflected mainly in the global economic division of labor and cooperation, but it also means that people must view a lot of things from a global perspective.

Warship belongs to the category of heavy weapons, which are tools of war. It is also a synonym of the gunboat policy of Western powers in history. However, with the advancement of civilizations, warship is not an only sharp weapon used in maritime war.

According to new international practices, warship is also a diplomatic tool. Since the end of World War II, especially the end of the Cold War, warships have more and more been used by different countries and troops as an important diplomatic platform for mutual exchange of communications and information. Certainly, a warship can used to flex the military muscle of a country. But after all, this is not the mainstream agenda of the current "maritime diplomacy".

"This trip suggests that Japan-China relations are gradually expanding and we hope that the visit can contribute to the enhancing of mutual trust and can contribute to Asian peace and stability," Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said ahead of Sazanami's sailing for China.

Through extending an invitation to the Japanese side for a naval visit, China also sent a message to Japan and the world that Chinese people are willing to enhance mutual military trust with its neighbors and finally seek mutual political trust.

As far as various exchange events held between Chinese and Japanese navy officers and soldiers during the Japanese naval ship's stay are concerned, they are mainly aimed at exhibiting to its Japanese counterpart the achievements of the Chinese navy, a move that also embodies the confidence of China in its national defense-building and the confidence of the Chinese nation and people.

For a country devoted to peace and development, warships are not only a part of its defense strength, but also an important envoy of peace.

Since November 1985 when a Chinese warship paid a visit to Pakistan, different Chinese naval fleets have sailed to more than 50 countries and regions almost to every corner of the world over the past 23 years. In the meantime, dozens of foreign countries have also sent naval warships to China for visits or military exchanges. The formations of China's navy have also participated in dozens of international maritime military drills.

From China's Shenzhen to Japan's Sazanami, a new page is being turned in the history of the two countries' navies and even the fields beyond. With peaceful exchanges, not bloody strife, as the theme, the new page should be honored by the two countries, especially their young generations.

The author is the chief commentator of the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post.

(China Daily 07/02/2008 page8)