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A sign of considerable progress in the Sino-Japanese thaw. About time, too. Both nations are so crucial to Asian economic development that they really should be getting along better now.
Edit: One thing I'm wondering though is whether the Japanese warship was flying just a normal Japanese flag (white sky, red dot) or whether it was flying the Japanese naval flag (same but with red rays radiating from the dot).
The naval flag is very similar to the old Imperial Japanese flag, and it might have caused some tensions. (In much the same way as the Olympic salute was dropped because it was too similar to the Nazi salute.)
Japan warship begins China visit
A Japanese warship has arrived in southern China for a five-day port call, the first such visit by a Japanese navy ship since World War II.
The Sazanami sailed into port in the city of Zhanjiang seven months after a Chinese warship, the Shenzhen, visited Japan.
The reciprocal port calls were agreed at a meeting last year between senior military figures from the two nations.
This one comes amid improvements in the often tense China-Japan relationship.
Earlier this month, the two sides struck a deal to jointly develop gas fields both claim in the East China Sea, resolving a protracted bilateral dispute.
That agreement followed a visit to Japan in May by Chinese President Hu Jintao, the first by a Chinese leader in a decade.
'Friendship and trust'
Chinese state television showed pictures of the Sazanami, a destroyer, arriving in port.
The Japanese vessel is carrying relief supplies for the victims of last month's Sichuan earthquake.
The crew will hand over 300 blankets, more than 2,500 pre-packaged meals and hygiene masks during their stay.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao rejected the idea that the visit could ignite lingering anti-Japanese sentiment.
The visit would "help enhance the friendship and mutual trust between the two countries", he told a news conference in Beijing.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2008/06/24 10:28:14 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
A Japanese warship has arrived in southern China for a five-day port call, the first such visit by a Japanese navy ship since World War II.
The Sazanami sailed into port in the city of Zhanjiang seven months after a Chinese warship, the Shenzhen, visited Japan.
The reciprocal port calls were agreed at a meeting last year between senior military figures from the two nations.
This one comes amid improvements in the often tense China-Japan relationship.
Earlier this month, the two sides struck a deal to jointly develop gas fields both claim in the East China Sea, resolving a protracted bilateral dispute.
That agreement followed a visit to Japan in May by Chinese President Hu Jintao, the first by a Chinese leader in a decade.
'Friendship and trust'
Chinese state television showed pictures of the Sazanami, a destroyer, arriving in port.
The Japanese vessel is carrying relief supplies for the victims of last month's Sichuan earthquake.
The crew will hand over 300 blankets, more than 2,500 pre-packaged meals and hygiene masks during their stay.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao rejected the idea that the visit could ignite lingering anti-Japanese sentiment.
The visit would "help enhance the friendship and mutual trust between the two countries", he told a news conference in Beijing.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2008/06/24 10:28:14 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
The naval flag is very similar to the old Imperial Japanese flag, and it might have caused some tensions. (In much the same way as the Olympic salute was dropped because it was too similar to the Nazi salute.)
Japan is not supposed to have warships. War there is unconstitutional. It should have been a "self-defense" ship. 
That reminded me of
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