(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-04 07:00

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's missile destroyer "Shenzhen" left Tokyo's Harumi wharf on Saturday morning, concluding the PLA's first-ever warship visit to Japan.

Achievement of the port call has been full of twists and turns.

The two countries reached an agreement to exchange visits by Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) and PLA Navy vessels in 1998 under the administrations of then Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and then Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

A Chinese naval vessel was scheduled to visit in spring 2002, but the voyage was canceled after then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors several Class-A war criminals along with Japan's war dead.

Momentum toward a port call began to build again in the autumn of 2006 when bilateral relations started to pick up after then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe traveled to China.

A naval exchange was confirmed when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Japan in April this year, and was finally realized under the administration of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda - nine years after the initial agreement.

The port call symbolizes movement in restoring relations. Japan welcomed the vessel and its 350 sailors. It will now be Japan's turn to send an MSDF ship to China next year. The exchange should be considered a first step in further developing defense exchanges to contribute toward stabilizing bilateral relations.

Yet distrust between the two countries in the military sphere will not be eliminated with just a few port calls. There is growing concern in Japan about China's military development. China is also alert to the Japan-US cooperation on missile defense and the possibility of interference on issues regarding Taiwan.

In the end, there is no way other than to have repeat exchanges and continuing dialogue to foster mutual trust. Port calls by naval vessels are small steps. Learning about each other firsthand little by little will help loosen needless tensions.

A broad agreement has been reached to establish a hotline between the two nations' authorities. It should be implemented as quickly as possible to prevent accidents based on misunderstandings. If the two countries communicate on a regular basis, mutual understanding will deepen further.

Deepening trust on the military front would not only improve bilateral relations but also favorably influence stability in Asia as a whole. China has been taking an active role in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and Japan and China should consider joining hands in personnel training and other tasks, and spread their efforts to other Asian countries.

Another item to consider is that defense exchanges should not be confined to military personnel but ought to be opened up to the general public. If public understanding develops even a little, that would reduce inaccurate speculation.

When it comes to Chinese naval vessels, names such as Dingyuan and Zhenyuan come to mind to history buffs. They were great battleships that the Qing Dynasty was proud of. The warships visited Japanese ports during the Meiji Era (1868-1912), and their majestic appearance stunned Japanese.

Japan rushed headlong to build up its fleet so as not to be outdone, and later clashed with China in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894).

Obviously we need cooperation for peace rather than competition in military expansion. Efforts should be made to ensure that the name Shenzhen goes down in history as a first step toward amity.

The Asahi Shimbun

(China Daily 12/04/2007 page11)