TOKYO - A destroyer sailed out Thursday to make a Japanese warship's first port call in China since World War II as part of a two-way military exchange aimed at improving long-strained ties, Japan's defense ministry said.
The navy vessel with 240 crew members was carrying blankets, medical supplies and other relief goods for survivors of China's deadly May 12 earthquake, a Defense Ministry spokeswoman said.
Any Japanese military presence, however, remains a sensitive issue for many Chinese who still hold bitter feelings about Japan's invasion and occupation of their country in the 1930s and '40s.
The destroyer Sazanami will stay in the southern Chinese navy port of Zhanjiang from June 24 to 28, the ministry spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity, citing departmental policy.
"Our China visit will not only help us build trust between Japan and China, but also peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," Rear Adm. Shinichi Tokumaru said in a televised departure ceremony at the destroyer's home port of Kure in southern Japan. "We'll do our utmost to boost our friendship."
The two countries have recently been making efforts to improve relations.
They announced an agreement Wednesday to jointly develop gas deposits beneath waters in the East China Sea that are claimed by both sides — a breakthrough in one of their major disputes.
In November, the Chinese guided missile destroyer Shenzhen made a port call in Tokyo, the first visit by a Chinese military vessel to Japan since the war.
Japan in late May abandoned a plan to use military planes to deliver relief goods to quake-hit China after Beijing voiced unease about the mission. Many Chinese posted protest messages on the Internet about the plan.
Japan-China relations plunged in the first half of the past decade due to disagreements about wartime history, conflicting territorial claims and other squabbles. The two countries have made progress in defusing those conflicts.
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