Chinese navy ship to visit Japan, South Korea

The visit of the Zhenghe to the Japanese port of Kure will be only the second by a Chinese naval vessel since World War II as the sides seek to overcome lingering mistrust.

Many Chinese continue to resent Japan's brutal invasion of much of the country, while some Japanese are wary of China's rise as a regional military power alongside its growing economic clout.

Commanded by Rear Admiral Liu Yi, the navy's deputy chief of staff, the ship will first call at the South Korean port of Chinhae on Oct. 29, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

The ship's complement of 365 will include 230 cadets from four academies under the People's Liberation Army Navy who will carry out a series of exchanges with their South Korean and Japanese counterparts, the report said.

Long known for its secrecy and insularity, China's military has vastly stepped up exchanges with those of other countries in recent years, with a particular focus on Russia, Central Asia, and traditional allies such as Pakistan.

Contacts with Japan and South Korea have been less frequent, an outgrowth of Beijing's discomfort with their close treaty ties to the United States.

The destroyer Sazanami became the first Japanese navy ship to visit China since their war in the 1930s, calling last summer at the southern port of Zhanjiang.

A year earlier, a Chinese warship had dropped anchor off Tokyo in what was widely seen as a breakthrough in ties.

However, in an indication that sensitivities remain, Japanese ships were not included in an international naval review earlier this year at Qingdao, the home of the Chinese Northern Fleet, even though Japanese officers were invited.

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