Soldiers of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) see off the destroyer "Sazanami" at Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, on June 19, 2008. The Japanese MSDF destroyer, which is the first vessel by the MSDF to call on China, set off on Thursday morning for a visit to the southern Chinese port of Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province. "Sazanami" was scheduled to arrive at the Chinese port on June 24 and stay there for five days. (Xinhua Photo)

　　HIROSHIMA, Japan, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyer set off Thursday for a visit to a Chinese port, the first by the MSDF to China.

　　Destroyer "Sazanami," which departed from Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, is scheduled to arrive at the southern Chinese port ofZhanjiang, Guangdong Province on June 24.

　　The 4,650-ton vessel will deliver relief supplies, including 300 blankets and 2,600 emergency food items, to those affected in China's quake-hit southwestern areas, Japan's Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and other officials told a news conference on Tuesday.

　　During their stay at the port, the crew members of the "Sazanami" are to join some friendship events with local Chinese people, officials said.

　　The visit came as part of a bilateral defense exchange following the four-day visit of China's missile destroyer "Shenzhen" to the port of Tokyo in November 2007.

　　Soldiers of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) see off the destroyer "Sazanami" at Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, on June 19, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

　　A Japanese Maritime Self- Defense Force (MSDF) destroyer sets off for a visit to a Chinese port, the first by the MSDF to call on China, at Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, on June 19, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)

　　A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) destroyer sets off for a visit to a Chinese port, the first by the MSDF to call on China, at Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, on June 19, 2008. (Xinhua Photo)