A Chinese warship dropped anchor off Tokyo yesterday in China's first military visit to Japan since World War II, symbolizing improving ties between the two Asian giants.
The port call by the guided missile destroyer Shenzhen, with about 350 crew on board, was part of an exchange that will bring a Japanese warship on a visit to China at a later date. It was the first visit ever to Japan by China's People's Liberation Army.
The visit took place amid concerns in Japan over surging defense spending in China, but the commanding officer assured his Japanese hosts that Tokyo has nothing to fear from Chinese military might.
"There is no need for concern, but we must be able to protect ourselves," Rear Admiral Xiao Xinnian (蕭新年) told reporters on board the ship. "China does not want to be a superpower or take over the world."
The port call also came less than a week after Beijing deeply embarrassed Japan's closest ally, the US, by refusing to allow the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier and its battle group entry into the port of Hong Kong. The Kitty Hawk's home port is in Japan.
The Chinese ship arrived under heavy security with a Japanese destroyer as its escort and a half dozen helicopters buzzing in the sky. On board, a navy band played Anchors Aweigh, while a cheering section of Chinese well-wishers brought by bus by the embassy waved Chinese flags and performed a lion dance.
During its four-day stay, the Shenzhen will be opened to the Japanese public for tours. It also will dock at the Japanese naval headquarters in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo, before returning to its home base in the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang.
Diplomatic relations between Japan and China -- two countries that are increasingly vying for economic and political clout in the region -- have visibly improved over the past year.
"We have made big strides in our military relations and your visit symbolizes this progress," Admiral Eiji Yoshikawa, chief of staff for the Japanese navy, told the Chinese delegation.
Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cui Tiankai (
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS