Naval Ships to Visit China in November--Weinberger

American warships will visit China next month for the first time since the Communists took over in 1949, Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger announced today, providing “visible evidence” of growing military ties.

His announcement came after two days of meetings with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, Premier Zhao Ziyang and other top government and defense officials.

Weinberger told a news conference that three naval vessels will visit Qingdao from Nov. 5-11. The Yellow Sea port is the site of a submarine base and naval training center.

He said the port call is “very significant. It’s very clear, visible evidence of continuing and developing military-to-military relationships.”

The first American port call had been scheduled for June, 1985, but fell victim to a dispute over public statements about it.

Communist Party chief Hu Yaobang said in May of that year that the United States had agreed to abide by China’s policy of not allowing port calls by nuclear-armed ships. The State Department denied that and canceled the visit.

Asked how the issue was resolved, Weinberger repeated that there has been no change in the U.S. policy against revealing whether specific vessels carry nuclear arms.

The New China News Agency quoted a government official as saying China has not altered its policy of refusing entry to warships carrying such weapons.