The calls by the USS Cowpens and USS Vandegrift to the Zhanjiang port are part of a series of exchanges between the two militaries for the past few years, Lieutenant Commander Mike Brown said.

"I think it's a good indication that the continuation of relations between the two countries is moving in a positive direction," Brown, the public affairs officer for the US Navy's Carrier Group Five, told AFP.

"Obviously, these port visits are an opportunity for the two countries to strengthen the bonds of friendship."

It is the first time US Navy ships have been allowed to visit the Chinese Navy's South Sea Fleet headquarters in Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong province, Brown said.

In the past few years of exchanges, US ships have only docked at the mainland Chinese ports of Qingdao in northeastern China and Shanghai in the east, he said.

In return, a Chinese naval ship and a support ship will be allowed to visit the US territory of Guam for the first time this year, Brown said. The schedule for the visit has not been finalized.

An average of about three US ships visit mainland China each year, Brown said. Chinese naval vessels visit US ports less often, he said.

Military exchanges between the countries, including port calls, were temporarily suspended following a mid-air collision between a US EP-3 spy plane and Chinese fighter in April 1, 2001 off the south China coast that sparked a major diplomatic row.

The Chinese fighter pilot was killed in the collision and the EP-3 was forced to make an emergency landing in China's Hainan Island, with the crew detained for 11 days before being released.

Brown said Monday: "We've put that behind us."

Last year a US ship visited the Chinese port of Qingdao and two Chinese ships visited Pearl Harbor and then went on to Everett, Washington, he said.

The two US ships visiting Zhanjiang this week are permanently deployed to the Western Pacific and operate from Yokosuka, Japan.

The USS Cowpens is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser with a crew of approximately 400 sailors.

The USS Vandegrift is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate with a crew of approximately 210 sailors.

While the US sailors are getting rest and recreation for the next four to five days, they will participate in activities to promote friendship between themselves and Chinese sailors, including basketball, soccer and ping pong games, Brown said.

"Everytime we have these types of exchanges, we reduce the opportunity where we'll have misunderstandings when we're at sea. We operate in the same proximity, so it's important to do that," Brown said.

"From time to time, we encounter the Chinese Navy. We respect each other. We want to make sure they know where we're going and we know where they're going."

WAR.WIRE